Beyond the Mistletoe
by Kryzanna
Summary: It was never meant to be like this. What happened at the Christmas party was meant to stay there. If only Kuroko hadn't taken those photos, and if only they hadn't been leaked to the internet; Kagami and Aomine wouldn't be in this embarrassing mess. Kise had a plan to save them, but what happens if that too spirals out of control? Yaoi. Sequel to "Mistletoe and Wine"
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my second Kuroko no Basuke fanfiction for all you fans out there! Read on, and I hope you enjoy! It's an intro chapter, mind, and updates will be coming!**

**[****_Note: this is a sequel to the Christmas one-shot "_****Mistletoe and Wine", ****_though it can be read alone_****]**

**No spoilers. Not canon (don't even really know where it fits into the canon timeline, though Yosen has been introduced). For the purposes of this story, all third years (ie Kasamatsu, Imayoshi etc) have been demoted to second years (just so they can stay on the team for a bit longer). **

**Warning: will contain yaoi, and bad language**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any of its characters**

* * *

There was a sudden flurry of cursing from the direction of the Seirin locker rooms. The entire basketball team, so used to this by now, didn't even stop practicing, even when an incensed Kagami Taiga stormed into the gym, clutching a balled up piece of paper in his fist.

"Okay, who was it this time?" he demanded aggressively; looking from one teammate to the other. As usual, they ignored him –well, pretended to ignore him. He could see their smug smirks of amusement, no matter how much they tried to hide them. He scrunched up the piece of paper a little tighter, praying desperately that that would destroy the rest of the others in existence.

"Who was what, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko inquired innocently. Kagami let out a violent yell and leapt back a pace –too focused on rage to have noticed the shadow approaching him. After his heart attack ended, he glared down at his partner accusingly.

"This was you, wasn't it?" he demanded, throwing the piece of paper straight into the other boy's face. Kuroko didn't even flinch, just picked it up where it fell and unwrinkled it.

"Are you asking if I was the one who took the photo or if I was the one who taped it to your locker?" Kuroko inquired in that same angelic voice that Kagami didn't trust one little bit.

"Both," he snapped back through gritted teeth.

"Well, I took it," he admitted with a small smile, "See; Kise-kun and I are taking a selfie –"

"I can _see_ that!" Kagami snapped irritably, "And if you saw it taped to my locker, why didn't you tear it down?"

" –Because you were late again," Kuroko replied simply, as though that was a good enough reason for him to be so severely punished, "You were warned, after all."

"Is there a problem, Kagami-kun?" Coach Riko inquired sweetly, and Kagami immediately felt rage dissolving into fear as he turned to discover that she was standing right behind him. God, when had _she_ developed that Kuroko-trait of sneaking up on people? He was worried. Whenever the Coach used such a kind tone, he knew he was in for a beating if he didn't watch his mouth.

"I…uhh…" he stammered.

" –Can I rest assured that you will make it to practices on time from now on?" Riko inquired with a bright smile, "Because it is really so much effort walking all the way to the locker rooms. The door to the gym is so much closer –"

"I'll be on time!" Kagami immediately exclaimed; ashamed of how easily he backed down. But this was the Coach…and there was no way he wanted those photos posted up on the gym doors where anyone could see them. She patted him on the arm approvingly and sweetly informed him that he was going to be doing double the training menu today, before wandering back over to where Kiyoshi and Izuki were attempting to not look amused.

"Delete those photos, Kuroko, you bastard," Kagami growled threateningly once she was out of earshot, "Everyone's started using them against me! Captain made me do his grocery shopping last week!"

" –If you didn't treat them as such a big deal, then they wouldn't have anything to blackmail you with," Kuroko pointed out, smoothing the photo out and handing it back to Kagami as a souvenir. He immediately balled it up again; turning red at the sight.

"It's been like, two months since the Christmas party," Kagami complained as he jogged over to join the drills, "Haven't I been humiliated enough?"

"No," several of his teammates replied gleefully. Kagami let out a frustrated noise and his shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"Enough sulking," Hyuga sniffed, jogging past, "I still have my copies, and I'm not afraid to use them!"

"Captain, you're cruel," Kagami glowered.

"Well, that may be the case, but I wasn't the one stupid enough to fall for Kise-kun's goading," he reminded him with a smirk, obviously amused with the way Kagami's expression darkened. The redhead jabbed an accusatory finger at the captain and glared at Kuroko to prove his point that everyone was against him. However, Kuroko had decided that retreat was the best option, and had thus disappeared for the meantime.

Kagami lividly clenched the scrunched up photo; tossing it into the nearby trash can and hoping that someone set fire to it. How had it come to this? How had he been reduced to living a life of embarrassment and fear?

Oh, that's right, he had made out with Aomine Daiki.

And Kuroko had captured it on camera. And by 'captured', he had thoroughly documented the entire 'Mistletoe Incident' as Kagami preferred to call it –each transition from kiss to grope; complete with multiple angles –and ensured that every member on the team had digital copies. It was almost March, and Kagami was still certain that he hadn't seen all the photos yet.

It was all Kise's fault, really.

Actually, it was probably Kiyoshi's fault. The Coach had wanted to have a Christmas party, to celebrate the year, and to have a fun time. Kiyoshi had been the one who had thought it was a bright idea to invite along the other members of the Generation of Miracles and their teammates –thinking that tension was running a bit high and everyone was in need of a bit of quality bonding time.

Too many drinks and Kise running around with a sprig of mistletoe (procured from Midorima, since it was his lucky item of the day) had Kagami winding up pressed against a wall and sucking face with Aomine. Though, if Kagami was being honest with himself, it really was his and the bastard's fault for being stupid enough to fall into Kise's trap of 'bet you're too scared to make out with each other' or some other taunt just as lame. Those memories were a little fuzzy, for which he was endlessly grateful -though he did wish he could remember what started it. Maybe then he could figure out who was truly to blame for this mess.

No matter whose fault it was, though, those photos that damn Kuroko and Kise had taken were still in circulation, and every time he saw them, they brought back more memories. It wouldn't have been quite so mortifying if it had just been simply lip-locking. But, as was rather obviously displayed in the photos, it was nothing of the sort. There were tongues and wandering hands and apparently a good deal of…_grinding_…

Kagami shuddered at the memory and was subsequently distracted enough to be hit in the side of the head with a basketball.

"Quit daydreaming about your boyfriend," Hyuga scolded and Kagami went red.

"_I was not daydreaming about him_!" he immediately snapped back aggressively, even more annoyed when he heard a couple of sniggers in the background, "And _he's not my boyfriend_!" He just received a chorus of laughs in response and his mood soured.

Though, at least when practice got going, they didn't have enough breath for taunts.

* * *

After practice, he headed off to his favourite burger joint, starving now that those humiliating pictures with Aomine were off his mind. He was exhausted from practice, but it felt good. They'd been having a couple of practice games in the last few days, and they proved an excellent distraction. He was pretty sure he was getting stronger too. He was itching for some one-on-one. Maybe he could text Kise and see when he was next in the area. Or maybe even Aomine...

With his tray piled high with burgers, he turned to seek out Kuroko, who had opted for tagging along –he didn't know why; the guy barely ate a thing. Unfortunately, before he spotted the shadow, he heard the one voice that ruined his improving mood.

"Yo, Tetsu; fancy seeing you here."

"Tetsu-kuuuun! Can we sit with you?"

Kagami made an aggravated noise in his throat and stalked across the joint to see that Momoi and bloody Aomine himself had slung themselves into the same booth that Kuroko had chosen.

"Aomine-kun. Momoi-san," Kuroko remarked politely in greeting as he sipped on his vanilla shake.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kagami demanded to know –a little less politely.

"Oh, it's just you," Aomine yawned obnoxiously, "I'd hoped Tetsu had stopped hanging out with weaklings." Kagami glowered and didn't fail to notice that Aomine had decided to insult him as opposed to answering his question. The redhead, seeing that the Touou students had already made themselves comfortable, slid into the spare seat beside Kuroko –unfortunately opposite from Aomine.

"The team was in the area, but we lost them, so I thought we might as well get something to eat," Momoi informed him with a gentle smile, "Running into Tetsu-kun was a bonus!" Kagami mutinously unwrapped a burger and looked away with an annoyed snort. Momoi proceeded to brightly natter on about something to Kuroko –probably informing him of how lazy and unmotivated Aomine was being. Aomine and Kagami sat in stony, tense silence; Aomine arrogantly helping himself to one of the redhead's burgers.

"Oi, bastard –keep your thieving hands off," Kagami growled with his mouth full. Aomine quirked an eyebrow into that infuriating leer that made Kagami's blood boil.

"…Tch," Aomine scoffed, again ignoring him and casually taking a bite, "Satsuki, can't we go home? I'm bored." Kagami's eyebrow twitched as he saw Aomine's dark eyes slip to leer at him superiorly whilst chewing on _his_ burger.

"Calm down, Kagami-kun," Kuroko remarked flatly.

"I'm calm!" Kagami snapped -though it was obvious he wasn't, "The bastard stole my food."

" –Aomine-kun!" Momoi scolded, "You said you weren't hungry!"

"I changed my mind," he snorted with a lick of his lips; already eyeing up the pile on Kagami's tray, "Although...he probably needs to improve his strength...not that it'll help him."

"Next time's going to be different, Ahomine," Kagami vowed darkly, "You just fucking wait!"

"Oh I'm waiting," Aomine shrugged in a thoroughly bored tone, "Waiting for a challenge that doesn't exist." He caught the bold glint in Kagami's eyes and sniggered to himself, "And if I have to wait until you're worth my time, then I'll be waiting forever."

" –Play nice," Kuroko commented lightly when it seemed as though Kagami was going to make a lunge across the table to grab the smug, bored Touou ace.

"Aomine-kun, you really shouldn't be so mean to Kagamin," Momoi remarked with a sigh and then looked across the table at Kuroko helplessly, "You'd think after Christmas, they'd start being a bit nicer to each other." Veins simultaneously popped in the brows of both aces.

"What's that supposed to mean?" they both snapped aggressively. Momoi just giggled; delicately pressing a hand to her mouth as they glowered at her, then glanced at each other and then moodily averted their gazes; chomping on their burgers. Aomine, already finished with his first, reached out and snatched another from Kagami's tray.

" –Just go buy your own," Momoi sighed heavily, looking across the table adoringly at Kuroko.

"Kagami's got enough to share," Aomine snorted and Kagami clenched his hands into fists in annoyance. Everything the bastard did irritated him to no end. And he just did everything with such an entitled air. Aomine seemed to notice Kagami's dark glare and his face widened into a smirk; practically smelling the competition in the air.

"How about we go for some one-on-one?" Kagami challenged darkly, "I think it's about time you learnt some fucking manners."

"And you think _you're_ going to be the one to teach me? Were you even listening to waht I just said, _Bakagami?_" he remarked in what sounded like mocking amusement. "_The only one who can beat me is me_."

"Yeah, yeah, keep your lame catchphrase," Kagami snorted, and was about to tell Aomine where he could shove his stupid ego, when he caught a snatch of a conversation nearby.

"Oh that is just so cute," someone was simpering mockingly. Kagami's eyes narrowed as he glanced across and saw some guys hanging out in one of the nearby booths; obviously looking over at them. "_Double-dating_!"

"I feel bad for the chick," someone else snorted, "Having to deal with those guys arguing. Lover's spat already, you think?"

"Probably..." Kagami was getting the unpleasant feeling that the four of them were the topic of conversation, and the next part that he heard confirmed this.

"Tch, well, the pink-haired chick's cute enough," another of the guys was saying, "…Can't believe that weak loser managed to get her –"

"Oi –" Aomine hollered; apparently having caught this last part of the conversation, and his protectiveness of Momoi and Kuroko flaring up. He lazily got up from his seat and stalked over –hands in his pockets and mutinous look plastered across his face. "…You punks have something to say?"

"This is a private conversation, man," the guy informed him flatly, and Kagami was genuinely surprised that he wasn't shitting himself. Most lesser people cowered before Aomine's imposing presence. But something seemed kind of off. The guys were smirking and nudging each other, almost in _mockery_ of Aomine. And Kagami knew that he was rather unfamiliar with mocking. No one ever dared direct it at him. Until now, apparently.

"It's not private if I can hear that you're talking about us," Aomine snorted, suddenly lunging forwards and grabbing the other boy by the scruff of his shirt, "So…do you have something to say?"

"Aomine-kun!" Momoi exclaimed hotly, "Don't make a scene!" Kagami, annoyed by the guy's attitude, but even more so at Aomine's inability to keep his temper in check, got up from the booth and stalked over, roughly shoving the bluenette into releasing the guy back to his seat.

"Oi –we're in public," he growled darkly, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The guy and his friends all sniggered.

"Trouble in paradise?" one of them snickered.

"What was that?" Aomine shot back instantly; eyes flashing darkly.

"Aomine," Kagami snorted, grabbing him by the arm. As much as he disliked Aomine, and hated the knowing, mocking way these guys were looking at him, they didn't need a fight breaking out in a burger joint.

"Yeah go on, listen to your boyfriend," one of them jeered.

"What was that, asshole?" Aomine drawled dangerously.

"…You wanna try saying that again?" Kagami growled –dropping his grip on Aomine and looking down on them. From the look of them, and at a brief glance at their bags, they were from a local high school basketball team.

"Oh, I'm so scared of the prissy gay boy and his pet," another goaded. Kagami's hands clenched into fists.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," he snapped irritably, practically feeling the violence beginning to ooze from Aomine's aura.

"Sure you don't," one of them commented smugly, "Bet you had a real fine Christmas though…"

"Shut the fuck up," Kagami snarled darkly; that ominous feeling growing ever stronger, "I'm not gay!"

"I thought being with a dude kinda confirms that," one of them sniggered; nodding at Aomine, whose expression was growing less and less bored by the second.

"What the fuck? Why the hell would you think I'm with an asshole like him?" Kagami snarled.

"...Because you seem into assholes...if you get my meaning," another smirked, causing the redhead to turn a violent shade of red as he did indeed understand the meaning.

"You need to learn some respect," Aomine leered in that haughty growl of his.

Things could have gotten ugly right about then, but that was the moment when help arrived in the form of Kiyoshi, Hyuga and Imayoshi. Kiyoshi and Hyuga had stayed late after practice and decided to grab some dinner, and Imayoshi…well, he'd been assigned the task of locating Aomine.

"Sorry, sorry," Kiyoshi called back to the startled patrons of the burger joint as the two aces were dragged from the building, protesting all the way and being prevented from yelling obscenities in a family restaurant by Momoi and Kuroko obligingly stuffing hamburgers in their mouths.

Only when they were standing on a nearby basketball court at a safe distance from the offending strangers did Kiyoshi and Imayoshi release their aces.

"_Bakagami_!" Hyuga snapped, thumping Kagami hard on the head so hard he saw stars, "What the hell were you thinking, starting something with those guys?"

" –It was _his fault_!" Kagami exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Aomine, who was sulkily slumped on one of the benches and being berated by Momoi. Imayoshi looked kind of at a loss as to what to do with the guy.

"Hey, they were dissing Tetsu," Aomine growled defensively, "I'm not going to sit by and –"

" –Kuroko…" Kagami suddenly inquired dangerously, "…Can you tell me _why the fuck_ they think Aomine and I are together?" For the first time, he saw Kuroko looking a little guilty as he glanced over at Kiyoshi. Aomine made a disgusted scoffing noise.

"That's enough from you, Aomine-kun!" Momoi exclaimed.

"Well…uhh…about that…" Kiyoshi remarked sheepishly, "There appears to have been a, how do I put this?" He went silent for a moment, lost in thought.

"There's been a leak." Blue and red eyes narrowed dangerously as they glared at him, but Kiyoshi didn't seem daunted by the twin looks of suspicion.

"What do you _mean_ 'a leak'?" Aomine growled darkly, his full attention suddenly on the older boy.

"Well, you know those photos…" Kiyoshi began, scratching his chin innocently.

"What photos?" the Touou ace inquired sharply.

"The photos I took of you and Kagami-kun kissing at the Christmas party," Kuroko informed him calmly. Aomine actually stopped scratching at his ear disinterestedly; his eyes widening in horror and his mouth falling open.

"What? You gave our entire team copies, and he doesn't even know about them?" Kagami exploded hotly, "What kind of friend are you, Kuroko?"

"Tell me this is a joke, Tetsu," Aomine growled, his brow furrowing angrily.

"Kise-kun wanted to send you copies, but I informed him that you would probably react violently," Kuroko replied, still the epitome of calm in the face of his two mutinous lights. "He seemed to think that you would demand all evidence erased, and decided against informing you so that we could make fun of Kagami-kun a little longer."

"I'm going to kill Kise..." the bluenette muttered darkly as Kagami glared sharply at Kuroko for allowing this to continue. The minx of a shadow just innocently sipped on his shake; apparently trying not to look pleased with himself.

" –In any case…" Kiyoshi continued, to try and diffuse a bit of the tension that was beginning to mount, "A few of those photos may have –through sources unknown –made it onto the internet."

"What?" Kagami growled, "You mean that there are photos of me kissing this asshole on the internet for the world to see?"

"I'm afraid so," Kiyoshi replied simply.

" –And you knew about this, Tetsu?" Aomine glared accusingly, "And Kagami –why the fuck do you know about these photos?"

" –My entire team blackmails me with them!" the redhead snapped, as Kuroko obligingly pulled out his phone and googled their names together.

"Oh, Kiyoshi-senpai, it appears that a number of new blogs have started up since we last checked," Kuroko remarked in interest.

"Blogs?" Aomine and Kagami growled at the same time; peering over Kuroko's shoulders and jostling each other in order to see. He'd opened up one of the pictures and the pair of them immediately looked away from each other in embarrassment as it loaded. It was a particularly good angle; depicting Aomine quite clearly with his arms wrapped forcefully around Kagami; tongue pressed deep into his mouth.

" –If this was you pulling some stupid joke, Kuroko –" Kagami gritted out from between clenched teeth; unable to look Aomine in the eye. He was glad of the relative darkness, because he was damned sure he was blushing, and hated that he was.

"It wasn't me," Kuroko assured him.

" –Wait, have you _known_ that these were on the internet?" Kagami exclaimed hotly.

"Explain, Tetsu," Aomine drawled.

"Well, I happen to follow a lot of basketball blogs," Kiyoshi admitted with his usual smile, saving Kuroko from explaining, "Sometimes the love lives of upcoming basketballers are you know, discussed and speculated upon –and I just stumbled upon one or two of those photos on the blogs –"

"What?" God, this day really couldn't get any worse, could it?

"Satsuki, did you know about this?" Aomine asked dangerously.

" –I'd sort of heard about it," she assured him immediately, "But I thought it would blow over, and I didn't want you to get all mad…"

"…So you're saying it _hasn't_ blown over?" That, at least, was what Kagami had gotten from that statement. Momoi averted her eyes in embarrassment.

"I think it's safe to say, from the amount of blogs springing up, that you two have attracted quite a bit of attention," Imayoshi chipped in, sounding slightly amused.

"What does that mean?" Kagami inquired flatly, glancing over at Aomine, who was looking disgusted, and disgruntled, and angry.

"…It means, _Bakagami_, that people _know_," he snorted, and Kagami couldn't believe how the guy could still be mocking him at a time like that.

"Well," Kiyoshi corrected with a wince, "…To put it more simply…anyone who follows any popular basketball blogs knows, and well...probably thinks you're together..."

"So that means, _most_ people know –apart from you two, apparently," Kuroko informed them. Kagami had a sudden, sinking feeling in his gut.

"So that basketball team in there –" he gulped.

"Yes, Kagami-kun," he replied, "It's not so bad..."

"They know…" Kagami mumbled to himself; resting his face in his hands -obviously not seeing how Kuroko could be claiming 'it's not so bad'.

Everyone in the basketballing community knew that he –an upcoming _male_ player –had publically made out with the _also male_ ace of the Generation of Miracles. And even if he was being melodramatic in thinking _everyone_ knew...or thought that they were (god forbid), _together_…

…It was only a matter of time.

* * *

**Oh dear Kagami, you really are in a sticky situation. First your teammates making fun, and now the wider basketball community... What on earth are you going to do if everyone finds out? Will things work out? Or will they get worse before they get better? **

**This fic is acts as a sequel to my Christmas one-shot "Mistletoe and Wine", so check that out if you want to see what went down at the Christmas party! And follow, and review if you want to see the problems that arise from this one little drunken incident!**

**Much love,  
xx K**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two! Enjoy!**

* * *

This was more like it.

Kagami smirked and let out a low breath, the sound of a basketball on concrete music to his ears. He was panting heavily and sweating like a pig, but right now, he couldn't care less. He stared down his opponent with a calculated gaze, waiting for his next move. He couldn't even hear Kise calling out encouragement from the side-lines. All he could hear was the sound of his own breath and that of Aomine's as the other ace leered at him.

All of a sudden, Aomine became nothing more than a blue blur as he shot forwards, almost too fast for Kagami's eyes to keep up with. But he'd expected that, so instead, he just ran with gut instinct. How many times had he played Aomine one-on-one now? He was starting to get a feel for him and his moves.

So, when instinct told him to move left to block him, he immediately lunged in that direction, stopping Aomine dead in his tracks –at least for a moment. Then, Aomine, with his inhuman agility, changed direction almost as fast as he'd accelerated, and drove past Kagami –straight towards the hoop.

"No you don't!" Kagami snarled, leaping into action after him and springing into the air to block. Too late, he saw the wicked, triumphant smirk in Aomine's eyes as, mid-air, the bluenette changed tact and opted for one of his formless shots.

The ball went flying through the hoop and clattered to the ground.

Kagami landed in annoyance, stalking over to retrieve the ball.

"And here I was, thinking you were getting better," Aomine mocked, hands on hips –going so far as to let out a dramatic yawn.

" –Wah! Kagamicchi, you almost got him that time!" Kise cheered in delight. Kagami blinked at the sound of his voice –he'd kind of forgotten they had spectators. He looked over and saw Kise rather cheerfully perched on the nearby bench with his senpai –seriously, was Kasamatsu like, his babysitter or something? Kuroko and Kiyoshi were there too –Kuroko because well, he was always there, and Kiyoshi because he was hiding from Hyuga.

"Tch," Kagami snorted, before meeting Aomine's smirk evenly. The bluenette's eyes narrowed suspiciously; not liking the way that red gaze glinted across at him. It was full of defiance and determination. After his initial surprise at seeing such a bold look faded, his expression settled back into his condescending smirk. Perhaps this one was going to prove interesting.

"Admit it, Aomine," the redhead hollered in a mocking tone, "…I'm stronger than you thought."

"Tch, no," Aomine rolled his eyes, "…You're just maybe not as weak." A vein twitched in Kagami's brow.

" –_It's the same thing, Ahomine_!" he exclaimed hotly. "Now, play me. And get ready to lose."

"That's never going to happen," he vowed darkly.

"Uhh…Kuroko…I think we may have a problem…" Kiyoshi suddenly commented with a wince. Kuroko looked away from the game for a moment and frowned slightly as he too acknowledged the appearance of another rival basketball team making a beeline for the court.

"Agreed…" Kuroko admitted, taking note of how a small crowd had gathered around the court; all admiring the one-on-one taking place between the Touou and Seirin aces. Kagami and Aomine were currently too wrapped up in their game and each other to notice –which was probably a good thing. They'd been going at this for what felt like hours –and Kuroko was actually a little happy to see Aomine smiling once again. As much as he claimed that Kagami was boring him and that the redhead wasn't worth his time, he'd still been playing hard, and the light in his eyes assured Kuroko that his old light was actually immensely enjoying himself.

So it was that it was actually Kuroko and Kise that caught wind of the first murmurs.

" –Is that them?" someone from that basketball team inquired curiously as they pulled up.

"Yeah, man –those are the two guys I was talking about…" another muttered. Kuroko was starting to get a bad feeling, and he looked over his shoulder to see that the team was staring out at the way Kagami and Aomine were playing, "You won't _believe_ the pictures I saw of them…"

"What's this?" an innocent bystander inquired curiously –overhearing the exchange.

"Oh," one of them replied, nodding at the two players on the court, "Those two guys out there are actually together, apparently." The stranger's eyes widened, and turned to look at the court with a small frown.

"I guess that makes sense," she admitted with a shrug, "I mean…there's blatantly some kind of tension between them –"

"I know right," one of the basketballers added, "We saw their match at the Inter-High and _man_ it was intense, like –" The murmurs were starting.

"Excuse me," Kuroko remarked, having gotten up from his seat and moved over to the group of whisperers. They turned at the sound of his voice and practically leapt out of their skin –not having noticed him approaching, "But you really shouldn't be spreading rumours that you don't know to be true."

"Where the fuck did you come from?" one of them swore, clutching his chest to slow his racing heart. "And what are you talking about? Have the seen the guys? It's totally obvious –" He nodded over to where Aomine and Kagami had suddenly paused in their game –Aomine holding the ball disinterestedly as the redhead picked himself up from the ground –having been roughly (and unfairly) shoved.

"They're just really focused on their game," Kise assured them with a bright smile, wandering over as well and tentatively eyeing the pair on the court and praying they didn't become suspicious. "That's all! I mean, we can all get pretty fired up when we play, right?" He laughed in that friendly way of his, but apparently the newcomers weren't buying it.

" –Have you _seen_ the photos?" one of them queried flatly, "They're everywhere. How is it possible that they're not into each other?" He pointed back to the court, where it was apparent that an argument had started –Kagami gripping the front of Aomine's shirt threateningly, and the bluenette likely claiming that he was too chicken to actually hit him. Kuroko and Kise cringed and exchanged glances. In all honesty, to the casual observer, the competition alight in their eyes could have been misinterpreted as something much less platonic, but just as intense.

"Kagami, Kagami, there's no need for violence," Kiyoshi soothed, and Kagami roughly shoved Aomine away from him –snatching the basketball from his hands.

"It's not like I was actually gonna punch him…" he muttered to his senpai, "I don't like violence but…"

" –Could've fooled me," he chuckled.

" –The guy's an asshole," Kagami defended flatly.

"Knew you didn't have it in you to deck me," Aomine goaded.

" –Aomine-kun, there's no need to rile him up," Kiyoshi assured him in his calm voice that apparently could soothe even the wildest of beasts. Aomine just leered across at him and averted his eyes in a way that implied he was only exiting the argument because it was boring.

It was about then that Kagami noticed that they were being stared at. Who were those guys that Kuroko and Kise were talking to? And why were they…staring…

Squaring his shoulders and putting on his most pissed-off face, he stalked over and laid a huge hand on Kuroko's shoulder. He felt the shadow tense.

"…Is there a problem, Kuroko?" he inquired darkly.

"None at all, Kagamicchi!" Kise replied brightly, waving him away casually, "We were just telling these guys that you were using the court first, so…"

"_Actually_," one of the newcomers remarked, apparently not seeing the way Kise's expression darkened, "We were discussing how amazing it was that you could you know…put aside personal feelings…" he nodded back over to Aomine –who, having seen Kise's innocent expression, was immediately suspicious and was making his way over.

"Personal feelings?" Kagami's voice was growing cold. He cricked his neck aggressively.

" –Well you know?" he seemed genuinely confused that the redhead didn't understand, "Being able to give your all against your boyfriend? I mean, most people would go easy but –"

"This bastard is not my boyfriend," Kagami snapped, currently debating over dropping his voice into a low growl or just going for gold and yelling it out for the world to hear.

"Like I believe that," the guy scoffed, "I mean, I can understand not wanting to admit it and all –since you just lost…but –"

"_I did not just lose_," he declared hotly.

"Uhh…senpai…" Kise nervously called out to Kasamatsu, "I think uhh…I think we're going to need your help…"

"And I repeat, _Aomine Daiki is not my boyfriend_!" Kagami snarled, stepping forwards threateningly.

"Whoa, chill –defensive much?" another sniggered.

"_The lady doth protest too much, methinks_," someone else –further away –added.

"Who're you calling _lady_?" he exclaimed, "And I'm protesting, because it's not fucking true!"

"Thought you were above violence, Bakagami," Aomine drawled as he joined the conversation, coming up beside Kagami and towering over the smaller team.

"_Oh my god, they are so cute together_!" a girl squealed from nearby. Aomine's eyes narrowed.

"Who the fuck called me cute?" he inquired in a disgusted tone.

"_That's_ the problem you have with that statement, jackass?" Kagami glared.

" –Well, if you guys are like, done, is it all good if we use the court now?" the boldest of the team –obviously their captain –ventured to ask. Suddenly, he found himself practically dangling in mid-air as one of Aomine's tanned hands shot out to grip him by the collar of his shirt.

"It's not _all good_," he remarked in that deadly tone that Kuroko knew so well, and hated, "You know why? Because you guys are spreading shit about me, and I'm not okay with that."

"Hey, we didn't mean harm," the guy assured him; holding up his hands in surrender, "We were just saying what we heard. But if you guys want your relationship to stay a secret then you went about it kind of the wrong way –"

"We're not together," both aces growled, and had Kasamatsu and Kiyoshi not leapt forwards to restrain them, things might have gotten ugly, despite Kagami claiming to dislike violence. It seemed that Aomine was not above throwing punches though, because he was just about to deck the guy before Kiyoshi grabbed his wrist and dragged him backwards.

"Let me go!" Aomine snarled violently as Kise hurriedly pulled out his phone –Kuroko and Kasamatsu only just managing to restrain Kagami between them –though Kuroko wasn't proving to be overly useful in that respect.

"Ki-chan, what a nice sur –" Momoi commented brightly as soon as she answered.

"Momoicchi!" Kise wailed deafeningly into his phone, "We have a situation! I repeat, _we have a situation!" _

"Kiyoshi!" now it was Kiyoshi's turn to look a little apprehensive as he and the two first-years recognised the sound of their captain's voice echoing out across the court. "Seriously, I've been calling and…where have you…" Hyuga stopped, mid-sentence and mid-stride as he drank in the situation. Riko, standing next to him sighed heavily and facepalmed.

Kagami and Aomine were both mid-insult; Kasamatsu and Kuroko trying to drag Kagami away from what appeared to be the makings of a fight. He was tugging against his restraints; rage apparently directed towards a small, local basketball team who were cowering back against the fence. He adjusted his glasses and looked over at Riko for advice on how to handle things.

"Kagami-kun?" Riko called out, and he turned to glare at her, "…What's going on?"

"Come on guys," Kiyoshi advised, directing the pair of them away from the courts so that things could continue in bloodless peace. Aomine finally shrugged him off and stalked ahead of him, letting out a disgruntled snort and tucking his hands into his pockets. Kagami, a little embarrassed that he'd let those assholes riles him up again, quit his struggling and was thus released from Kasamatsu's grip.

"Thanks so much, senpai –" Kise remarked gratefully, only to wind up being booted in the ass by his captain.

" –Fat lot of help you were!" Kasamatsu sniffed hotly, rubbing his cheek where Kagami had actually elbowed him. Kise let out a mournful wail, pointing at his phone.

"I was calling Momoicchi for aid!" he pouted dramatically. Riko and Hyuga looked at the two aces and sighed heavily. Kagami was gritting his teeth bitterly, and Aomine looked at the very least, a little ruffled by the proceedings.

"Come on, let's head to the gym," Riko sighed, "Kuroko-kun, could you please tell Momoi-san to meet us there? I think we maybe need to have a talk." Kuroko nodded and fell back a little as Kagami sulkily began trailing after their teammates –making sure to stay at least a metre ahead of Aomine, who, since Momoi was coming soon, had decided that tagging along was better than waiting by himself.

Kise dropped back to meet Kuroko as he texted Momoi. The pale shadow looked bothered; his brow furrowing in concern. Kise's expression softened into one of guilt as he followed Kuroko's saddened gaze up ahead to the disgruntled pair of aces.

"Kise-kun…we went too far..."

"I know, Kurokocchi, I know."

* * *

It turned out that on their day off, the rest of the team had actually been practicing in the gym (Kiyoshi, however, had vanished midway through practice and had decided that finding Kuroko and Kagami would prove to be a lot more entertaining).

"Aomine-kun, I can't believe you're getting into _more_ fights!" Momoi exclaimed hotly; hands on hips in a motherly fashion as she glared down on Aomine, who was sitting on the floor in disinterest.

"Satsuki, I don't wanna hear your whining; you're not my mother," he grumbled, averting his eyes. She made an exasperated noise.

" –You have to stop this," she sniffed, "If you get in trouble, you might wind up getting banned from games!"

"This has been happening at Touou too?" Riko inquired with a small frown. Momoi sighed and nodded sadly as she looked over at Seirin's couch.

" –He just doesn't know when to back down and ignore them," she admitted, shaking her head.

"Sounds like someone we know," Riko admitted dryly, and when she heard no vocalisation from Kagami, turned to look at him. For once, he was sitting morosely on the bench; waiting to be berated. "Kagami…that could happen to you too, you know. You can't just go getting in fights!"

"What am I supposed to do?" he muttered.

"Ignore them," Riko rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"How can I?" he growled, looking up, "People think I'm dating this moron!"

"Who're you calling moron, Bakagami?" Aomine shot back confrontationally. Both females sighed again, shrugging helplessly. Riko headed over and sat next to her frustrated ace.

"Kagami?" her voice was genuinely sorrowful and apologetic, "We…we didn't mean for this to happen, I swear." He looked across at her and knew that she wasn't lying. As he looked up, he could see his team looking incredibly guilty.

" –We…we took it too far," Hyuga murmured, "I…I'm sorry…for making you do my shopping…and stuff…"

"It just started as a joke to get you to come to practice on time," Riko assured him softly, "I _never_ would've put those photos up anywhere in public." Kagami's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah…we should've stopped," Izuki admitted quietly, "You were getting pissy, and we shouldn't have kept going."

"No, I get it," Kagami sighed and graced them all with a small smile, "I mean, if I had embarrassing photos of you guys, there's no way I'd let you live it down." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "I mean, I can see the funny side of it –and I knew you wouldn't _actually_ put them on the gym doors, coach…They…weren't that bad, I suppose…"

"Except for that one where –" Kise corrected, and was subsequently punched in the head by Kasamatsu.

"…Time and place, Kise," he growled.

"We'll delete them all," Riko promised, and they all nodded in agreement, "Kagami…can you forgive us?"

"Of course I can," he snorted, "…You're my friends, aren't you?"

"Don't play that card," Hyuga sighed, "If we were your friends, we would've stopped sooner." Kagami shrugged. He wasn't really the type to hold a huge grudge –especially against his teammates. They'd never been actually spiteful about the whole thing, and he was sure he could one day look back on the 'incident' and laugh along with them. People did stupid things when they drunk, all the time!

But he was relieved that his teammates were going to get rid of the photos. And he was glad that they finally seemed to all be back on the same side.

" –That's all good and well," Kiyoshi commented with a small frown, "But I believe that we have another problem to deal with, currently?" Kagami groaned again and pressed his hands to his face. His anger at his bloody teammates had dissolved –how could he stay mad when they looked so genuinely guilty for taking a joke too far, but his mood fell at the reminder that there was a worse situation at hand. "Do we know who leaked the photos?" Everyone present shook their heads.

"I can't find the original post," Momoi informed him, "I tried, but…" she just sighed and looked over to where Aomine was pretending to be asleep.

" –Ugh…so the whole world is going to think that Aomine and I are together," Kagami muttered, "This is fucking great…"

" –Not to mention, there are all kinds of rumours going around on the blogs…" Kuroko informed him sympathetically.

"Rumours?" one of Aomine's blue eyes flickered open suspiciously. Kuroko nodded shortly.

"Well...conjecture mostly and speculation mostly. Some of it is outrageous, like the rumour that the two of you have secretly been together since Aomine-kun was at Teiko," he informed them, "Others, saying that your admiration for Aomine-kun blossomed into love, are the most widely believed."

"_Admiration_?" Kagami snorted incredulously –not wanting to admit aloud that yes, he actually really did admire Aomine; his basketball, of course. "Seriously, are there people out there that just make up shit for fun?"

"I'm sure it happens to celebrities all the time," Riko patted his shoulder comfortingly, "People see a picture and they make wild assumptions. We'll figure out a way to fix this, don't worry, Kagami-kun. No matter what it takes, we'll help you through this!" The rest of the team immediately voiced their agreement. He gave them a grateful grin. There had to be a way to get through this.

"Uhh…Kagamicchi?" Kise suddenly spoke up sheepishly, "…Kurokocchi and I have a confession to make…" Aomine's eyes leered up at the bright blonde and narrowed when he saw the guilty look on his face. Kuroko nodded for him to continue.

"…We may have made a bet at the Christmas Party that we could get you and Aominecchi to make out."

It was about fifteen minutes before Kagami stopped chasing Kise around the gym, threatening to throttle him. Aomine, a little more reserved in his mutinous rage, just sat there following Kise with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Calm down, Kagami-kun," Kuroko advised; holding up Nigou in the redhead's face to finally save Kise from the redhead's wrath. Immediately, Kagami paled and shrank back into a cower at the sight of the small dog.

"D-Don't tell me to calm down, Kuroko, bastard," he grumbled, annoyed at how his voice didn't sound quite so threatening when it was shaking at the mere sight of a canine. "What kind of sickos are you two? You _bet_ each other that you could…" He shuddered again.

"…Yes…" Kise and Kuroko both replied, avoiding mentioning that the rest of Seirin –and indeed, the rest of the teams at the Christmas party had been privy to –and involved with –said bet; apart from Hyuga, who had been just as horrified when everyone started pooling their money.

"Why would you do something like that?" Aomine inquired dangerously.

"Uhh…" Kise stammered awkwardly, "Well, we thought it would be funny –which it was –and we were planning to set up Takao and Midorimacchi anyways…" He trailed off with a guilty wince, "But that's why we feel so bad now!" he added hurriedly as he saw Aomine getting to his feet; cricking his joints threateningly. "And we are going to completely help get you out of this situation! Right, Kurokocchi?"

"Indeed," Kuroko nodded.

"And how do you propose we _do_ that, Kise?" Kagami growled darkly, still panting from furiously chasing the blonde. Kise's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together flamboyantly.

"Don't worry, I have a plan!" he assured them brightly. Aomine and Kagami risked a glance at each other, both acknowledging that the playful look in Kise's eyes was worrying and that they definitely weren't going to like whatever it was that he had in mind.

"Really?" Riko inquired curiously, "Well, if you really think we can help Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun, then you have our full support. This has gone on long enough and we have to help fix the mess we made." Kuroko sighed heavily as Kise practically skipped over to both aces and slung his arms around their shoulders reassuringly.

"It's so simple!" he shrugged with a grin, "So simple that I must be a genius for –owww…._senpai.._."

"Get on with it," Kasamatsu grumbled, rubbing the fist that he had just smacked the blonde with. Kise pouted, but then his eyes lit up once more as everyone present listened intently to what this masterful plan was.

"You have to date each other."

* * *

**What on earth could Kise be thinking, making such a suggestion?  
How with Aomine and Kagami react to his "plan" -if it can really be called a plan, that is. That could never work, right?  
More trouble and mischief lies in store -especially when Kise's involved! **

**And, I really wanted Kagami to make his peace with his team quickly -I'm a sap like that, and they came off more unreasonable than I intended in the first chapter. They want to help make things right! **

**Thanks for continuing to read!  
Much love, and see you next chapter!  
xx K **


	3. Chapter 3

**Kise thinks he's a genius. Everyone else proves a little more skeptical. Shorter chapter than usual, but the next chapter will be following within the next day, I believe. **

* * *

"That better be a fucking joke," Kagami exclaimed hotly as Hyuga muttered, "Kasamatsu-san, I think you may have hit him too many times." Kasamatsu just nodded in agreement, joining in the blank stares that were currently directed at Kise, who was grinning like he was the most thoughtful guy in the world. The smile quickly faded as Aomine elbowed him in the gut particularly hard and he doubled over –winded.

"Aomine-kun! Don't be so mean to Ki-chan!" Momoi scolded; puffing out her cheeks.

"This whole thing is his fault," Aomine drawled, leering over Kise formidably, "He's lucky I'm not doing worse."

"Ahh, Aominecchi," Kise waved him away as he straightened up; smile back in place, "Hear me out!"

"I'm not dating the idiot," Aomine informed him darkly.

"Shut up, Ahomine!"

"I know, I know," Kise assured him brightly, "I should've phrased it better. You just _pretend_ to date him –" He was immediately doubling over again as Aomine jabbed him in the gut once more and Kagami let out an explosive, "_How is that any better_?"

Riko sighed apprehensively and facepalmed.

"…Does anyone else have any better ideas?" she inquired sullenly. There was no response, "…In that case, maybe we should hear what he has to say?" Kise's eyes were practically filled with tears of joys that there was someone out there not about to punch him.

" –You see, it's quite simple," he explained, this time standing out of range of the two rather unimpressed aces. "Everyone thinks you're dating, so you just pretend to date for a bit, and then you can 'officially' break up! See, how genius is –"

"Keeping talking yourself up and see how well that goes," Kasamatsu threatened flatly. Kise let out a soft wail of, "…_Senpai…_" but clammed up nonetheless.

"No," both Kagami and Aomine agreed simultaneously and exchanged glances confirming that this was their joint answer.

"It's the only way –" Kise sighed.

"But we're both straight," Kagami pointed out with an exasperated sigh.

" –Not to the masses, you're not," Hyuga winced and Kagami let out a defeated grumble.

"Like I'd ever stoop to dating a guy as weak as this moron," Aomine snorted condescendingly.

"What'd you say, bastard?" Kagami growled confrontationally.

" –Aomine-kun, you'd be lucky to date Kagami-kun," Kuroko defended his friend with a small frown.

"Then why don't _you_?" Aomine sniffed.

"…Because the world thinks the two of you are together," he reminded him and Aomine just responded with an annoyed, "Tch…"

"So basically, you want us to go along with these stupid rumours, and then break up?" Kagami muttered and Kise nodded earnestly. "…Why don't we just make a public breakup now and save all that bullshit?"

"I don't think people would believe you," Kiyoshi admitted with a wince, pulling out his phone and pulling up one of the blogs that he'd noticed was one of the main contributors to the rumours circulating around Aomine and Kagami. Kagami took it and reluctantly held it between he and Aomine so they could both read it. "...You have been rather vehemently denying your relationship..."

Their eyes widened to unnatural proportions and then narrowed again dangerously as they read. Kiyoshi nervously eyed the way Kagami's hand was gripping his phone probably a little too tightly. Disgusted and disgruntled, both aces turned away from the phone and descended into silence.

"If you claim to be together, you can control the rumours," Riko admitted quietly, "You can set the record straight, you know?" The stony silence continued for a moment.

"…How long…how long would we have to pretend?" Kagami inquired in a quiet, very reluctant tone. Kuroko and Kise quickly exchanged glances.

"…Until people believe it's real," Kise quickly replied, "You've spent so long denying being together there are people that are going to just think it's a publicity stunt or something; taking advantage of people talking about you to get your name out there. That kind of thing." Kagami's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Kise seemed to have thought this through fairly well. He was smiling brightly and practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Kagami didn't trust that innocent look.

" –And then, after a while, you start having issues with each other in public," Kuroko added, "…Which I don't believe will be a problem…" Riko and Momoi nodded dryly in agreement, "Then you can break up and everyone moves along with their lives. Perfect."

"Perfect apart from the part where I have to pretend to be dating an asshole," Kagami pointed out flatly; furrowing his brow.

"Only in public," Riko quickly interjected, knowing that they were beginning to talk him around and not wanting to lose him, "…And only when you're seen together. So it's really not that much time at all." She could see the unsure look in Kagami's eyes and the 'do I have to?' clear in Aomine's expression. But their anger was fading and at least they weren't protesting too much. How many options did they really have?

"And we'll help you out," she added, "We'll make sure the rumours don't get out of hand and back up anything you say." She gave them a supportive smile, "Right?" she added snappily at Hyuga and Kiyoshi, who both nodded reassuringly.

"And besides, you two both know that you're not really dating, so it's fine, right?" Kiyoshi added, and everyone present let out a heavy sigh of relief when Aomine and Kagami exchanged annoyed glances and voiced no further protest.

Kise did, however, wind up being sucker punched in the gut by the two of them.

"…Okay, I deserved that…" he admitted weakly from the floor.

"You did," Kuroko admitted, bending down to observe him.

"…You did the same thing, Kurokocchi!"

* * *

The air was thick with tension.

Red eyes looked up across the table to meet blue, before both pairs looked away in annoyance. This particular action had been repeated every two minutes for the majority of the meal so far.

"Is there a problem?" Kagami finally growled; sick of seeing Aomine's leer lingering on him. The bluenette just cricked his neck and stuck a finger in his ear obnoxiously as he chomped on one of Kagami's burgers.

"Yeah, I think there is," Aomine snorted flatly, looking pointedly at him.

"Look man, I don't like this any more than you do," Kagami snorted, swatting away the wandering hand that was reaching for another of his burgers, "But we have to do this. Those bastards and their fucking bet…"

"Tch, I can't believe them…" he agreed and then his expression changed, "Actually, I can. Wakamatsu's got it in for me, I fucking swear."

"You probably deserve it," Kagami deadpanned. Aomine just quirked an eyebrow at him and succeeded in swiping one of the burgers from the tray in front of the redhead, "Anyway…you shouldn't have taken the bait…"

"Hah?" Aomine stopped in the middle of tearing the wrapper off it.

"You know what I mean," he muttered, averting his eyes, "…This whole thing started was because you let Kise talk you into –"

"Oi," he snorted, eyes flashing dangerously, "…You did too! Don't put this all on me!" The tension mounted again as they glared at each other. Kagami was the first to sigh heavily and avert his eyes.

"No one's going to believe this," he sighed.

"No one," Aomine echoed in agreement, and they returned to silence.

" –I can't believe those rumours…" Kagami added in frustration, almost talking to himself as he chewed on yet another burger. Aomine, despite himself, appeared to find it a little fascinating where on earth all of that food went and leaned back in his seat as though watching a particularly unusual nature documentary.

_And here, we see a tiger, in his natural habitat, devouring his meal_.

He smirked and chuckled inwardly to himself at his own hilarity.

"Seriously…did you see the one about us…doing…you know…in a locker room?" Kagami snorted flatly. Aomine raised an amused eyebrow.

"_Doing…you know_?" he quoted back mockingly, and received a slight blush from the redhead in response. He sniggered.

"_You know_," Kagami repeated insistently, feeling his cheeks heat up and cramming half a burger in his mouth to cover his embarrassment. Too late, Aomine had seen.

"…Are you a _virgin_?" he inquired with a smirk.

"None of your fucking business," Kagami snapped back, but his defensiveness and the way he looked away with such a look of embarrassment informed Aomine that the redhead had indeed still not known the sweet pleasures of a woman. "…There's nothing wrong with being a…you know…" Aomine couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter that curled into a superior leer. "I just…" He left the sentence hanging. He didn't need to explain himself to Aomine Daiki. Although, Aomine was a little intrigued. It had become clear at the Christmas Party that at the very least, Kagami knew how to kiss, but he didn't seem like he'd had (m)any girlfriends.

"Well…so what now?" Aomine yawned, rather enjoying how embarrassed Kagami was looking right about now.

"I dunno," he shrugged in response, "…Correct rumours or something?"

"Tch," he grumbled, "Ugh, this is going to be so much effort…" He slumped down onto the table lazily, "…So, correcting the locker room sex –"

"Don't talk so loud," Kagami snapped, shrinking down a little. Aomine rolled his eyes, and suddenly spied a couple of cute girls loitering around the corner, peering over at them every so often and giggling to themselves. He raised an eyebrow and sized them up. Four of them. Pretty. Big breasts. He had to admit; he liked what he saw.

"Oi, Ahomine, are you even listening to me?" he suddenly became aware that Kagami was still talking. He looked up and gave him his best 'did you want something?' face and was greeted with an annoyed glare.

"Cute girls," he offered as an explanation, jerking his thumb in their direction.

"Idiot," Kagami snapped, "You're meant to be dating _me_ remember?" There was a sudden squeal of delight from the girls that Aomine had gestured at, and he suddenly realised that he had perhaps spoken a little too loudly and that potentially, his words could have been interpreted as a um…_jealous boyfriend_.

"…So…so it's true?" they slowly ventured over to ask, one of them saying, "Aomine-kun, I'm such a huge fan! I've seen all your games; you're so cool!" Aomine just yawned and ignored her, which apparently seemed to make him all the more alluring. "Kagami-kun, is it?" she addressed Kagami now, who hurriedly swallowed his mouthful and nodded. The girls all giggled to themselves.

"I um…" the Aomine fangirl stammered, "I was just…Kagami-kun you are so lucky to have Aomine-kun as your boyfriend! It must be so great to be with someone with his talent!" Kagami glared at Aomine and was gifted with a superior smirk in return.

"You've got food on your face," the bluenette remarked flatly, flinging a napkin at him. The redhead glowered at him, but for the first time, they didn't make any denial about their supposed relationship.

"Um…Could I…maybe…get a picture of you two?" she asked shyly, "For my blog? All my followers are huge fans and we just think it's so great that you –"

"Sure," Aomine shrugged dismissively.

" –Aomine!" Kagami growled uncomfortably as the other ace leaned heavily on his hand and glanced across the table in disinterest. A kick to the shins made him curse and glare at the smug bluenette.

"Just lean forwards and try not to look like a loser," he drawled, and Kagami glowered at the nerve of _Aomine_ giving him modelling advice. At least they weren't asked to smile together. Kagami didn't know if he could've handled that. Ugh, just the thought of more photos on the internet of he and Aomine together made him uncomfortable, but he understood the bastard's reasoning. Photos like that meant that people would be more inclined to believe that they were currently in an at least semi-functional relationship…After all, wasn't that why Riko had suggested they go get something to eat together?

"Aomine?" he suddenly inquired curiously, failing to have noticed that Aomine had taken more of his food.

"Hah?" came the standard response.

"…If those girls were such _big fans_ of yours," he sneered, before taking another bite, "…Why were they all good with me?"

"What are you talking about?" Aomine grunted.

"Wouldn't they be, you know,_ jealous_ that it wasn't _them_ with you?" he muttered in confusion, "I don't get it." Aomine sniggered. God this guy was naïve sometimes.

"You know how two girls making out is like really hot?" he remarked.

"…Sure…" Kagami replied flatly, going along with this. Aomine rolled his eyes.

" –Some girls think it's hot when dudes are together," he shrugged, "Or _cute_ or some shit. Satsuki sometimes mentions it. I don't listen much. I don't care how girls think."

"You're a jackass," the redhead growled. _And I'm stuck with him_, he added mutinously to himself. "Who the hell would want to do stuff with you?"

"…You, apparently," Aomine snorted dryly with a snigger at the phrase '_do stuff_'. He held up his phone where he had begun scanning through the blogs –bored with the conversation. Kagami went red again. "And," he grin widened wickedly, "…There are people saying you're only with me hoping that some of my talent will rub off on you."

"Like hell!" Kagami snapped, snatching the phone and glaring at it when he realised that that was indeed one of the rumours in circulation. "…Fuck this…" he grumbled under his breath. Aomine just grabbed his phone back –along with another burger, which he pocketed –and got up from the booth.

"Later," he droned with a dismissive wave.

"Where the hell are you going?" Kagami demanded incredulously.

"Home. You're boring me."

Instead of arguing, Kagami just settled with glaring after him and groaning into his food. This was never going to work. How the fuck were they supposed to make people genuinely believe that they were together? Hell, Kagami didn't know the first step in handling a _girlfriend_ let alone a _boyfriend_, let alone the arrogant, temperamental bastard that was Aomine Daiki.

* * *

**Apologies for the shortness. In the next chapter, we find out if it's even possible for Aomine and Kagami to pretend to get along. Can they really pull off a fake relationship? **

**Updating soon, cross my heart. Thanks for the reading, the reviewing and the following, and any combination of the three!  
xx K**


	4. Chapter 4

**The second update I promised! It's longer! Yay! And less anger! Yay! How are Aomine and Kagami going to handle this whole 'pretend to be together' kind of thing?**

* * *

"Satsuki…remind me why you dragged me out here to watch Seirin's practice match?" Aomine grumbled as they stood against the wall, watching Seirin take on some local high school in a practice game.

"Kagamin is playing!" Momoi reminded him huffily, pointing out to the court, "…And Tetsu-kun of course…" He rolled his eyes, practically able to see those lovey-dovey hearts in her eyes. Ugh, gross.

"I'm bored," he snorted with a yawn, "These guys are weak."

"Aomine-kun, your boyfriend is playing!" she sniffed, "_Remember_? And just not denying that you're together isn't enough. Boyfriends support each other!"

"Because you know all about that," he snorted dryly and she blushed.

"Well, I would always support Tetsu-kun," she informed him brightly, "If he was playing in a game not against me, of course." Hands on hips, she glared at Aomine as he slouched disinterestedly. "And besides, according to rumours, you two have been dating since before Christmas –which means that, being in a relationship of just over three months means you could at least turn up to one of his games!"

"Tch…" he scoffed, rolling his eyes and folding his arms as Kagami had his pass stolen from him for not the first time of the game. The school they were facing had a team that specialised in steals and they were proving to be more of a problem than they had first anticipated. "Do we have to stay the whole game?"

"Yes," Momoi replied firmly, "And we've been invited to join them for dinner afterwards, and you'll be coming –or I'm telling your mother about that girl with the tattoo –"

"Fine, fine," Aomine interrupted in a bored voice, waving away her threats. He'd no doubt that she'd do it, he just didn't want her to keep talking.

"Kagami-kun, looks like you've got an audience," Kuroko remarked, jogging up beside Kagami, who was already incensed with the fact that the other team had an ace that was ridiculously good at steals. He looked back over his shoulder at the same time that Izuki sent him a pass, and unfortunately was hit directly in the side of the face whilst catching Aomine's eye. He stumbled, clutching his face in stinging pain and embarrassment.

"OW!" he growled in annoyance as Furihata and the others on the bench starting giggling and Riko yelled, "Bakagami! Watch it!" Fortunately, Kuroko had been there to recover the ball and send it off to Hyuga to cover for Kagami's rather embarrassing slip up.

"Kuroko! You did that on purpose!" Kagami muttered as their captain quickly sank a three-pointer as the buzzer signalled the end of the first half.

"I just thought you'd be interested to know that Aomine-kun was here," Kuroko admitted as they headed over to the bench for water and a quick break.

"…I don't care," he sniffed flatly, "…And besides, you could've told me when there _wasn't_ a ball flying at my face!" Riko slammed a punch down on the back of his head as punishment for making them look like idiots.

"Kagami-kun!" she snorted, hands on hips in the scolding position, "They're already giving us trouble! Keep your head in the game, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, coach," he muttered with a sigh. Despite it being a fairly casual game, there was a good turnout, spectator-wise. Apparently the other team's centre was quite popular.

" –Sorry about that pass," Izuki apologised, and then his eyes widened and he bit his lip and looked physically in pain for a long moment. Kagami looked at him strangely.

"Are you okay –" he began to ask before Izuki blurted out, "_But I would've thought you'd be more used to balls in your face_ –Kagami, I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist, please forgive me! It's a reflex!"

"Shut up Izuki," Hyuga snorted, but then coughed to cover up the fact that he'd just gotten Izuki's joke and was struggling to hold down his laughter. Kagami turned red and held his face in his hands in embarrassment.

"Just laugh…" he grumbled, and the entire team broke out into sniggers and then laughter –even Riko, who had a hand clamped over her mouth in shock at the crudeness of Izuki's joke. Kagami moodily gulped down some water and glanced over to the doorway where Aomine was lounging. Blue eyes glinted over at him; gaze distinctly mocking –something which he did not appreciate in the slightest.

When the break was over, they headed back onto the court, Kagami passing by Aomine.

"…You're losing your touch," Touou's ace goaded and Kagami's eyes flashed competitively.

"Tch," he growled, sticking his nose in the air in Aomine's personal space and puffing out his chest, "Just you wait! The next dunk's for you, you hear?" Immediately, Momoi clapped both hands to her cheeks and let out a delighted "_KYAAH_! Kagamin, that's too cute!" Aomine just smirked as he straightened up and took full advantage of the two centimetres height that he had over the redhead.

"I hear you being all talk," Aomine drawled in that same dull tone. "Entertain me, Kagami. I'm bored."

"Kagami!" Hyuga snapped, and Kagami cricked his neck as if to remind Momoi that he was not _cute_, before stalking off to return to the game.

No more than forty seconds into the third quarter, one of Kuroko's passes found its way to Kagami. A bold grin on his face, he sprinted down the length of the court; broke past the defence and took a flying leap towards the hoop.

"No _way_ can he jump like that!" someone exclaimed and the crowd gasped in disbelief as he sailed through the air almost in slow motion and slammed the ball down through the hoop with monstrous force. The crowd all cheered at the display as he landed on the ground with a thud; looking over at Aomine with a hand casually on his hip as if to say '_how was that_?'

"Aomine-kun!" Momoi nudged him in the ribs to make some kind of response. Aomine inclined his head cockily, then raised his hands as if to clap along, but then at the last moment, he raised one hand and patted it to his mouth to cover a dramatic, fake yawn. He saw the aggression light up in Kagami's eyes and smirked to himself as the redhead gritted his teeth and grumbled something to Kuroko –probably about him.

"Don't tease him," Momoi scolded with a giggle, "I know you were secretly impressed." She'd seen the way Aomine's eyes widened as Kagami flew –but knew he'd never admit it out loud.

Seirin really quit dragging their feet in the second half of the game. Fewer of their passes were stolen, and Kagami appeared more determined than ever –at least determined to not screw up. Riko had to chuckle to herself as they lined up at the end of the match, having won by a substantial margin. Maybe it was good to have Aomine around to give Kagami even more of an incentive to prove himself.

"Momoi-san, are you two joining us for a celebratory dinner?" she inquired brightly as she spied the cute, pink-haired girl wandering over with her friend slouching along behind her.

"Of course," Momoi replied in delight, "Where are we going?"

"Kagami-kun's cooking," Riko replied with a chuckle.

"HUH? What? Said who?" Kagami exclaimed as the team headed back to the bench.

" –Well, I could always whip up a –"

"No! No, Coach, don't trouble yourself!" Hyuga immediately interjected, "I'm sure Kagami would love to cook for us!"

"Yeah," Kagami replied with a wince as the rest of the team quickly urged him to agree to it before they were subjected to another round of their Coach's god-awful cooking. "Sure…I'm sure I can do something…I'll have to get some groceries on the way home though."

"No problem," Riko tittered with a smile.

"You cook?" Aomine remarked sceptically.

"He does," Kuroko answered before an offended Kagami could blurt anything out, "He's very good." Aomine raised an eyebrow and shrugged noncommittally. Kagami's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he straightened up; regarding his rival coolly.

"…What did I tell you…" Momoi hissed and Aomine's shoulders slumped in resignation.

"You uhh…" he muttered, Satsuki having told him to compliment Kagami when they went over to say hi. Kagami raised an eyebrow; surprised by Aomine averting his eyes in –was that embarrassment? Was he about to say something _nice_?

"…You didn't suck as much as you usually do."

Kuroko saw the storm rising in his partner's red eyes and hurriedly yanked Kagami's feet out from under him so that he slammed down onto the ground dramatically –thus avoiding him throttling his supposed-boyfriend.

It had been one week since Aomine and Kagami had reluctantly agreed to this charade. Well, agreed was a strong word. They just hadn't protested against it. Considering that the most interaction they'd had in that time was them having burgers together and getting their picture taken, Riko and Momoi had met and decided that to hurry things along, it might be good for them to be seen together a bit more -hence the little trip to the practice game.

* * *

"Admit it, that last dunk I did was awesome," Kagami boasted as the Seirin team headed back to his apartment after what should have been a quick shopping trip to get some more groceries. They'd lost Kuroko and Nigou in the aisles, and Aomine had refused to help until Kagami had ever-so-impolitely informed him that unless he helped, he wouldn't be getting fed.

"Stupid…useless…" Kagami had grumbled to himself at the counter, with Aomine trailing behind him.

" –Oi, Kagami –can you buy me a drink?" he called out rudely. Kagami's eyebrow twitched.

"…If you actually help me carry the groceries," he replied with a sigh.

"We'll see," Aomine snickered, but grabbed a drink nonetheless.

" –Difficult boyfriend?" the cashier had inquired.

"You have no idea," he had muttered in response.

So there they were, walking down the street in the fading rays of sunlight, all of them –including Aomine –carrying groceries along with them.

"Tch, I'd still crush you," Aomine snorted with a sigh, "But it was a little less boring, I guess." Momoi and Riko exchanged glances and sighed heavily.

"He was impressed, Kagamin," Momoi called out lightly, and Riko nodded approvingly at the slight fuelling of the fire that the other woman had decided to participate in. Aomine glared at her playfully and looked away.

"Hah!" Kagami smirked, shoving his face into the bluenette's personal space, "So you're getting a bit worried now, are you?"

"As if," Aomine snorted, turning to leer back at him, "The only one who can beat me is me," he repeated, as he usually did in these situations. Momoi glanced back over her shoulder and giggled to herself at the twin arrogant looks the boys were wearing on their faces. Aomine sure wasn't afraid to get all up in Kagami's business, but…

"Now, now," she remarked cheerfully, dropping back and walking between them, "We're all friends here, right?" She slipped a hand into Aomine's and her other into Kagami's. Aomine made an annoyed noise and stared stoically straight ahead. Kagami, however, at the contact, looked helplessly from Hyuga to Riko to Kuroko, his face turning steadily pink at the fact that there was a small, cute girl holding his hand in public.

"…Kagami's blushing…" Koganei giggled, and their ace tried to desperately fight down the blush by firmly looking away from Momoi, who wasn't letting go despite him trying to politely shake him off.

"Satsuki, quit it," Aomine snorted dully, "This is embarrassing."

"Why, Aomine-kun?" Momoi inquired lightly, "We're old friends! And Kagamin doesn't mind, does he?" Kagami was about to open his mouth to say that actually, he didn't often hold hands with girls, but then had the feeling that Aomine would mock the shit out of him for it…and therefore decided to suffer in silence. Riko raised an eyebrow, wondering what the other girl was up to. But then she saw that Momoi was subtly slowing down, and she giggled to herself. Oh this was going to be just too cute to miss!

"Kuroko-kun," Riko whispered, nudging him slightly, "Kise-kun is going to be very jealous that he missed this…"

"You know, I think you two should hang out more," Momoi was chatting kindly; the boys on either side of her pointedly staring straight ahead. "I think that maybe you might actually start to get along!"

"Like that'll ever happen," they deadpanned in unison, and then glared across at each other before scoffing and looking away.

"Why don't you give it a shot?" she suggested, "Do something together?"

"What, like play some one-on-one?" Kagami inquired hopefully -his voice laced with a touch of a challenge, and Aomine actually made a noise of agreement. Momoi smiled. Those two really did have basketball on the brain, didn't they?

"I think Momoi-san means like a date," Kuroko corrected. Kagami and Aomine just stared at him as if he was wearing something particularly nasty on his face. "In public, maybe?"

"I knew you'd get the idea, Tetsu-kun!" Momoi giggled. " –You could go shopping, or to a café…"

"Satsuki those are terrible ideas," Aomine snorted.

"Like I want to be alone with this guy," Kagami agreed flatly, suddenly realising that Momoi's hand had suddenly become a lot warmer. He found he didn't mind overly much, and found himself lacing their fingers together. That was at least a little more comfortable. A thumb softly rubbed against the skin of his hand.

"Well…" Kiyoshi frowned, "How about a double date?"

"Ugh," both aces protested flatly, currently oblivious to the fact that Momoi was no longer standing between them.

" –Who are you calling?" Hyuga suddenly asked Kuroko, who had pulled out his phone as they walked. Kagami looked over in interest.

"Midorima-kun," he replied simply, pressing the phone to his ear. They could all hear a, "What?" as Shutoku's shooting guard answered his phone.

"Hello, Midorima-kun," Kuroko commented politely.

"What do you want, Kuroko?" Midorima inquired haughtily.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in going on a date sometime this week…" Kuroko barely got to the end of his sentence before discovering that Midorima had hung up on him. He frowned at his phone and turned around to shrug at Momoi, who was quite cheerfully trailing along behind Aomine and Kagami. Unbeknownst to them, as she held their hands, she had secretly pulled them closer together until she was able to exchange her hands for theirs.

So yes, Aomine Daiki and Kagami Taiga were walking down the street, holding hands, albeit reluctantly, and not knowing it was with each other.

Kuroko hit redial and dropped back a little to meet with Momoi.

"Kuroko, I am not –" Midorima snorted irritably.

"Midorin!" Momoi called out excitedly, "It's so nice to hear from you! I'm here with Tetsu-kun! How are you! How is Takao-kun!" Again there was a dramatic click as Midorima hung up on them.

"What are you trying to do?" Hyuga raised an eyebrow.

"I thought that Midorima-kun and Takao-kun would make a good double date for Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun," Kuroko admitted with a shrug.

"Midorima and Takao?" Kagami snorted, "Are you kidding me?"

"Give me the photo, Tetsu," Aomine muttered distantly, "Satsuki, hold this." Momoi giggled to herself as she took the bag of groceries he was holding and he redialled Midorima –completely oblivious.

" –If you're going to –"

"Midorima, it's me." There was a long pause, but Midorima didn't hang up.

"Aomine?"

"You and the hawk-eye, huh?" Aomine drawled conversationally, "Can't say I'm surprised…"

"You and Kagami?" Midorima shot back flatly, "Can't say I'm surprised." Aomine rolled his eyes. "And I'm not with that idiot –what are you all calling me about?"

"Tetsu wanted to set up a double date," he replied distantly, "You free this week?"

"I am not dating that –" Midorima protested, and in the background, there was a, "Shin-chan! Who's on the phone?" There was what sounded like a scuffle, followed by a, "Takao! Give that back!"

"Kuroko! Hi there!" Takao called out from the other end of the line.

"It's Aomine," Touou's ace corrected and Takao let out a low whistle.

"Ooh, I'm honoured," he giggled, "What's Shin-chan not wanting to do?"

"Double date with me and Kagami," he informed him unenthusiastically, "Are you two free sometime this week?" A muted, "Shin-chan, we've been invited on a double date with Aomine and Kagami! Doesn't that sound like fun?" was heard, followed by a flat, "No," as a response from Midorima.

"Are we free this week?" Takao continued.

"No. Go if you like, but I am going on no date."

"He says 'sure thing'," the mischievous point guard informed Aomine brightly, "Friday? Great!" He laughed, "He's just sulking because his horoscope was bad today. And you and Kagami, really? Can't say I'm surprised. This'll be fun!"

"No it will not, because I will not be going," Midorima could be heard complaining in the background.

"What do you mean, you can't say you're surprised?" Aomine demanded crossly, but Takao was signing off with a teasing, "Shin-chan will call you!" and hung up to the sounds of a struggle for Midorima to reclaim his phone.

"Friday," Aomine muttered, handing the phone back to Kuroko and then looking over to Momoi walking beside him happily carrying the groceries. He blinked and looked down at her hands (both occupied), before gripping a bit tighter on the hand that was currently linked with his.

"Oh yeah," Momoi remarked sweetly, as the tightened grip on his hand attracted Kagami's attention, "…You guys have been holding hands for about four blocks now." Aomine and Kagami looked at each other in horror, and then down at their laced fingers; instantly recoiling and forcefully tucking them into their pockets as the rest of the Seirin team laughed and cooed over how cute it was. Kagami refused to look at the bluenette, because he knew that once again, he was blushing. And now his hand was cold –missing the warm of Aomine's skin. How the hell hadn't he noticed Momoi swapping them?

"…You sure get embarrassed a lot," Aomine drawled mockingly, looking over at him.

"I do not!" Kagami defended crossly, looking away.

"Really?" he mused with a smirk, sidling closer and sticking his face almost up against Kagami's neck, "What about now?"

"Get away," Kagami sniffed, pushing him away with his shoulder.

" –And I always thought Midorima was the resident tsundere," Kiyoshi remarked conversationally.

"He's not part of our team, so it doesn't count!" Hyuga snapped at him, at the same time as Kagami growled, "I'm not being tsundere, I just don't like him!" and stomped on ahead.

Kagami was rather happily working in the kitchen of his apartment with Mitobe –since he was able to cook quite well and knew what he was doing. The rest of the team was sprawled out on the couch or playing a board game –and Hyuga and Izuki were ensuring that Riko made no attempt to enter the kitchen.

"Eh, Kagami, I'm hungry," Aomine complained, stalking into the kitchen like he owned the place and picking out a piece of meat from the stir-fry that Kagami was currently finishing off.

"Oi, quit it," he snapped irritably as Aomine stuck it in his mouth and chewed it approvingly.

"Mmm, it's good," he remarked in surprise, reaching forwards and picking out a piece of broccoli, "Give me some more…" To his annoyance, Aomine leaned over, using Kagami's shoulder as a support, and started picking out bits of the stir-fry with his hands.

"_Ahomine_!" Kagami snapped crossly, and turned to face the other ace, whose mouth was full and his eyes strangely glinting with mischief. He swallowed dramatically and licked his lips before helping himself again. The redhead suddenly became conscious of Aomine's weight resting against half of his back.

"Piss off," he snorted, shrugging him off, "It's almost ready. Grab some plates."

"Ugh, but it's so much work…" Aomine complained childishly, and went instead to sling himself down on the couch beside Kuroko. Kagami glowered at him crossly, and Mitobe patted his shoulder reassuringly to calm him down.

Finally, everyone was seated with their food, and they dug in ravenously. The apartment was quickly filled with delighted praise of Kagami's cooking, and no one protested when Kagami flicked a basketball game on the TV.

"So we really have to go on a date?" Kagami complained to Riko and Hyuga, who were sitting on the opposite side of the table. He didn't know how he'd managed to end up with Aomine beside him.

"It's a double date. You'll be fine," Riko waved away his complaints, "After all, I'm sure you've had dates before –just treat them like that –" She suddenly stopped as Kagami choked on his mouthful slightly and had to cough dramatically several times and right himself. She and Momoi exchanged glances and let out twin squeaks, indicating that they thought that was adorable. Kagami slouched sulkily as he continued with his meal.

"I never found occasion, okay?" he snapped, when it became obvious that they were all suddenly very interested in his love-life –or lack thereof. He glanced sideways at Aomine and saw that he was smirking into his glass of water. "Hey, just coz I'm not a man-whore!"

"Who said I'm a man whore?" Aomine snorted with a quirked eyebrow, "I enjoy a nice set of boobs –what can I say? You, however, never expressed a preference." Oh he really enjoyed that thoroughly embarrassed look that Kagami was wearing once more.

"Of course I'm into girls!" he snapped crossly; roughly elbowing Aomine in the side. The bluenette glared and then smirked; slinging an arm around his shoulder condescendingly.

"Great. Then when this is all over, I'll help you find a nice girl, so you can lose your V's," he drawled and was rewarded with Kagami wearing a look that indicated that he wished he'd died when he'd started choking earlier on. Everyone was politely not looking at him. He pushed Aomine's arm away from him and glared up into his eyes. The entire room chuckled to themselves as they recognised the death-glare and acknowledged the sparks flying between them.

"Kagamin, that was delicious!" Momoi complimented as Kiyoshi, Koganei and Izuki cleared away the plates and headed in to do the washing up, since Kagami had put in the effort to cook for all of them. "Aomine-kun!"

"…Yeah, it was good…" Aomine muttered sleepily, slumping down onto the couch and putting his feet up in Kagami's lap. The redhead grimaced and pushed him off.

" –Do you have _any_ concept of personal space?" he growled crossly; swinging his legs up onto the couch to remind him that this was _his_ house. Apparently this didn't bother Aomine, who just pushed him away –which started what could've turned into a brawl if Momoi hadn't tugged on Aomine's shirt and Kuroko hadn't jabbed Kagami in the stomach.

"Share," the pair of them advised, Kuroko calmly, and Momoi in a heavy sigh.

So it was that Riko returned from the bathroom to discover that Aomine and Kagami were both sprawled on the couch looking rather disgruntled and comedic –each having been allocated an exact half of the couch by Kuroko and Momoi, who had served as the mediators. She giggled to herself, trying not to look too amused at how they were both too big for their halves of the couch and had to ball up –Kagami tucking his knees up to his chin.

"Crisis averted," Kuroko informed her calmly and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," she admitted, "I thought I heard yelling."

"I texted Kise-kun and told him that they were holding hands, too," Kuroko commented with a small smile, and held up his phone to show her the response.

_I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED IT! KUROKOCCHI SEND ME PICTURES! I BET IT WAS SUPER CUTE!_

"Oi, keep your toes on your side," Kagami growled flatly.

"Tch," Aomine scoffed.

"I made you dinner, Ahomine!"

" –So? I ate it for you?"

"Am I meant to be _thankful_?" Kagami snapped.

"Something like that," he snorted obnoxiously. Momoi and the rest of the Seirin team all looked at each other helplessly at the childishness of the pair of them. Maybe sending them out in public together –practically unsupervised –was a bad idea…

"…These two plus Midorima," Hyuga remarked with a sigh, "…I already feel sorry for Takao." There were half a dozen nods of agreement.

"That's the last time I cook for you," Kagami scoffed aggressively; folding his arms like a child.

"Fine. I didn't want you to."

* * *

**Aomine and Kagami can really be children, can't they? Aomine likes riling up our dearest Kagami. How will Takao and Midorima survive -and what happened with the two of ****_them_**** after what happened at the Christmas party? Can the aces of Touou and Seirin manage to keep up appearances unmonitored by their babysitters?  
Hope you enjoyed!  
xx K**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ah, I just love writing at the moment, and I apologise for *cough* kinda spamming updates... Holidays, so much time, I guess.  
Kagami's first date!**

* * *

"Kagami! Over here!" Takao called brightly, waving wildly as soon as Kagami and Aomine entered the movie theatre together. Red and blue eyes drifted over to see that Takao was coming over to them with a sly grin, with Midorima apparently sulking against the wall, holding a toy dove in the palm of his hand. Kagami sighed weakly and looked longingly back at the exit, but Takao was approaching, meaning that running away was no longer really an option.

"Shin-chan's been so excited about our date," the point guard informed them with a smirk back at the brooding shooting guard, "He spent two hours trying to decide what to wear!"

"Takao!" Midorima growled crossly, scowling at him.

"Okay, it was more like three," Takao chuckled, waving away Midorima's protests, "He's been looking forward to it all week." Kagami raised an eyebrow and looked over to where Midorima seemed to be the exact opposite of excited. He was leaning against the wall and stubbornly refusing to look at them –but he did look incredibly well-dressed.

Kagami tugged nervously on the hem of his usual black shirt. Usually it was his most comfortable item of clothing, but today he felt undeniably _un_comfortable. For some reason, he'd found himself staring at his wardrobe for about an hour, trying to figure out what the hell a guy wore on a date. And then, remembering that he wasn't actually trying to impress anyone, he just decided 'to hell with it' and wore what he usually wore. And on top of that, he'd spent about fifteen minutes outside the movie theatre, wondering if he should wait for Aomine or just go find the other two…and then Aomine just had to go and arrive out of nowhere and stalk inside without greeting him.

But he couldn't be mad at the moment because Takao appeared to be trying to keep the mood light. Well, he supposed with someone like Midorima around, there had to be _someone_ to take life less seriously.

"What are we, uhh, seeing?" Kagami inquired awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and trying to think of this as more of a friend thing and not a…date thing…

"Some comedy that Shin-chan wanted to see but then denied wanting to see when I suggested it," Takao replied with a roll of his eyes.

"You seem to have forgotten that I didn't even want to come on this silly outing," Midorima pointed out in an annoyed tone as the four of them headed over to get their tickets.

"And yet, here we are," Takao smirked knowingly, with a wicked, triumphant look at Aomine and Kagami, "You know, every once in a while, it's okay to admit that you wanted to spend time with me…"

"I simply wanted to see the movie, and my horoscope said that today, the company of a Leo was advisable," Midorima corrected him, "And since Kagami is a Leo, it is _his_ presence that concerns me, and not yours, Takao." Takao just glanced at Kagami and dramatically rolled his eyes at Midorima's attitude. Kagami couldn't help but chuckle as they approached the counter.

"Shin-chan, we should get popcorn!"

"No."

"_Please_?"

"It makes my hands oily." Takao sighed and folded his arms.

"But if only I get some, you'll eat all mine –"

"Untrue. It's unhealthy."

" –But _delicious_. Come on, Shin-chan –"

"No."

Kagami watched in amusement and slight bewilderment as for some reason, Midorima walked away from the counter with a jumbo tub of popcorn. He and Aomine stepped up and laid out cash on the bench for their tickets.

"Did you…want…uhh, anything?" Kagami inquired, just to be polite.

"Nah," Aomine grunted dismissively, "You?"

"Nah," he muttered –again, just to be polite; but that popcorn smelled delicious, and he hadn't eaten yet…

" –Some…popcorn or something," Aomine ordered with a yawn, adding some more money to the counter. He pointed at the size he wanted and the cashier looked at him a little strangely. He just slouched and glared back until she looked away in embarrassment.

"Thought you didn't want anything?" Kagami snorted, raising an eyebrow as Aomine collected the food and the pair of them headed off to join Midorima and Takao.

"Didn't," he replied shortly, and thrust the box into the redhead's hands, "You obviously wanted some, moron."

"Tch, I don't want your charity," he snapped crossly, trying to give it back. Aomine tucked both hands into his pockets and ignored the gesture.

"Satsuki gave me money and told me to buy you something to eat," he droned, "And you were drooling."

"I was not!" Kagami snapped hotly; unaware that he had automatically thrown a few pieces of the popcorn in his mouth. "…But this is fucking good."

"I know, right!" Takao chortled as the four of them headed in together –well, Midorima trying to act as though he wasn't with them.

"What are you, a bottomless pit?" Aomine snorted. Kagami would've snarled something back, but his mouth was full of popcorn, and Takao had commandeered the conversation.

"So, what's the deal with you guys?" he inquired curiously, "Did your teams get you, too?"

"What are you talking about?" Kagami scowled, and Midorima glared sharply at his teammate.

"You know…the…_Christmas thing_," Takao replied, after acknowledging the warning scowl he was being gifted with. He lowered his voice, "Shin-chan doesn't really like being reminded about it –_ow, ow, ow_ –" he complained as Midorima began twisting his ear –obviously his ritual punishment for bringing up such a memory. "Kise wanted to steal Shin-chan's mistletoe, and our captain said that while he was at it, he should –what was it?"

"…Interfere with our 'undeniable, repressed sexual tension'," Midorima quoted, adjusting his glasses after having released Takao's ear. "I personally, have no idea what he was talking about."

"Apparently it was driving our teammates up the wall," Takao commented, "And then the coach said that if Shin-chan didn't admit that he liked me, he was only going to allow one selfish act per day." He chuckled to himself, "But I convinced him that I didn't need him to say it, coz I knew it already." Midorima turned slightly pink and averted his eyes with a reply of, "Don't talk nonsense, Takao."

"He gets all embarrassed about this stuff," Takao shrugged with a smirk, elbowing his partner in the ribs and receiving a glare in response.

"…You _actually_ _like_ this guy?" Kagami deadpanned, to which Takao just sniggered as Midorima crossly snapped, "Oi! What's that supposed to mean?"

"So really, what's the deal with you two?" the point guard inquired as they loitered in the hallway, waiting for the doors to open so they could take their seats. "The rumours are true? You guys are like, a thing?" Aomine and Kagami just exchanged annoyed glances and sighed heavily.

"…Yes," they deadpanned, and Takao burst out laughing.

"Must you be so noisy?" Midorima complained as Takao leaned heavily on him as he struggled to catch his breath. He wiped a tear of mirth from one eye.

"My hawk eyes call _bullshit_," he snickered apologetically, "Are you guys like, trying to trick people or something?"

"That's the idea," Kagami muttered flatly, seeing no reason to lie since Takao had apparently seen through them so easily. Not that it was hard. The pair of them were barely making eye contact, and seemed to currently have no interest in the other. "…Then we can break up and this whole nightmare will be over." Takao chuckled to himself and tutted cheekily as he chewed on some popcorn.

" –Well, not gonna work if you guys aren't believable," he informed them with a grin, and chortled again at the despairing look on Kagami's face. He elbowed Seirin's ace companionably as they trooped into the theatre, "But you know, just pull the old _move_ in there, and you'll be sweet…"

"The move?" Kagami raised an eyebrow, and Takao chuckled, obligingly demonstrating by letting out an overdramatic yawn, stretching high and then slyly looping one arm around Midorima's waist. Both Kagami and Midorima flushed; the latter glaring down at the shorter point guard but not shrugging him off.

"I'm not doing that to _him_!" Kagami snapped as they took their seats; Takao and Kagami sitting in the middle of the four seats, with their respective…_people…_on their other side.

"Takao, put your feet down; it's inconsiderate," Midorima scowled coolly as Takao put his feet up on the seat in front of him.

"There's no one sitting there," he replied with a shrug, "Who knows, we might get the theatre to ourselves," there was a touch of mischief to his voice, "…Keep your hands to yourself, Shin-chan…"

"…Speak for yourself…" Midorima muttered under his breath but then appeared to realise that he'd said this out loud. Kagami pointedly looked down into his popcorn and decided that it was the safest thing to do until the movie started.

"Ahh, Shin-chan, you could at least _pretend_ to like being my boyfriend," Takao sighed, leaning back and tossing some popcorn into his mouth. As he looked back slightly, he saw what appeared to be a few familiar figures sitting up the back. He chuckled to himself as Midorima snapped, "I'm not your boyfriend, idiot."

"Yes, yes, of course you're not," he sniggered, waving away the comment as his partner blushed once more. Unable to help himself, what with a 6'5 giant blushing like that, he leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before withdrawing, sticking his tongue out at him as Midorima's cheeks turned a few shades darker.

"Takao!" He hissed, "I told you not to do that sort of thing when we're in public!" When Kagami and Aomine both looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, he gritted his teeth and stared stoically at the screen as the trailers started playing. Takao smirked gleefully at the other two aces.

"Excuse me, could I please get past?" Riko whispered quietly to the three figures sitting in a line in the second-to-back row of the movie theatre.

"Sure, sorry," a deep voice replied, looking up. Riko stared in recognition for a moment.

" –Hey, aren't you that Shutoku captain?" Kiyoshi remarked curiously from where he was trailing behind Riko and blocking Hyuga's path. Otsubo's mouth fell open.

" –Aren't you guys from Seirin?" he queried curiously. The six figures all stared at each other for a moment, before a bespectacled head peered down over Otsubo's shoulder from the seat behind.

"Looks like we all had the same idea," Imayoshi commented in a low tone of amusement. The three Seirin members began heading past the Shutoku players; noting that Imayoshi was sitting the row behind them with Wakamatsu and Sakurai.

"We can't all sit together!" Hyuga hissed, "We're too obvious!"

" –Ssh!" Riko whispered, "They're gonna hear us!"

"Tetsu-kun! Where do you want to sit?" a voice whispered from the aisle and all eyes moved across to see three more figures heading to find seats.

" –_Momoicchi_, ssh! They're gonna catch us!"

"Kise-kun, you're being just as loud." Riko let out a low sigh as the spies all seemed to decide unanimously that they were far too conspicuous at the moment, and began spreading out through the back rows –trying to be as subtle as possible. Though she doubted that anything could have drawn Kagami's gaze away from the screen, he was staring that intently at it. Maybe the poor guy felt awkward…

"Riko-san! Is that you?" Momoi asked quietly from the seat in front, looking back to see that Seirin's coach had apparently tried to disguise herself with a large sweater of Hyuga's and an ugly hat. She was fooling no one, it seemed, "What are you all doing here?"

"…We were concerned that Kagami and Aomine would fuck things up," Hyuga informed her flatly, glaring at Kiyoshi, who was sitting obliviously between he and Riko. "We uhh…What are _you_ guys doing here?"

"I missed seeing them hold hands!" Kise complained with a pout, "I will miss nothing else! Kyaah, look, they're so cute!" He pointed down at the pair of them, "_Aww, Midorimacchi got a kiss_!"

"Kise-kun, you're being too loud…" Kuroko whispered, nudging him to be quiet. Riko looked up and almost burst out laughing at the sight of the cinema as it began to accumulate a few more people. God, their teams were so unsubtle! How on earth all these giants were going to get out without drawing the attention of their quarry was beyond her.

"Why are you guys here?" she whispered over to the Shutoku players.

"Midorima kept complaining about having to go to a movie with Takao," Miyaji replied quietly, "Takao said that that meant he was actually really looking forward to it. We had to see that for ourselves." Kimura and Otsubo nodded in agreement.

Silence descended as the movie began. Kagami began to relax, eating his popcorn happily. Ahh, nothing better for a date than sitting in silence in the dark with someone you didn't really know. He laughed heartily along with the rest of the theatre when appropriate. The movie was good, and Takao's laughter from next to him was infectious.

Every time Aomine laughed, he was startled. It was so strange to actually hear such a _happy_ sound coming from the usually so disinterested ace. Even Midorima was chuckling –which was also unusual, but not unpleasant, he discovered.

At some point, at a lull in the gags, he heard Aomine yawn rather loudly. What? He was bored? But he'd seemed so into it –_why was there an arm around his shoulder_?

Riko, Momoi and _Kise_ let out tiny squeals of joy; clamping their hands firmly over their mouths to try and cover up the sounds.

"Aominecchi just pulled _the move_!" Kise exclaimed as laughter rose up in the theatre, "Oh my _god_!"

"Really, Aomine?" Imayoshi remarked flatly with a raised eyebrow, looking over and seeing the two young women practically screaming silently at the 'adorableness' of it.

Aomine looked away from the screen for a moment –unable to believe what he'd just done. That fucking Takao and his hawk eye…sure, they didn't really seem that they were into each other…but people had to think they were…hence the arm around the shoulders. He felt Kagami shift, and was assuming he was going to push him off, but no, to his surprise, the redhead was just getting more comfortable and moving a little closer so that Aomine's arm was a better fit around him.

This time, it was Aomine blushing. God he felt like an idiot with his arm around bloody _Bakagami_ like this. Not to mention he had become suddenly aware that their knees were touching…and that popcorn smelled good…

He reached over and helped himself to some of the popcorn; his hand brushing up against Kagami's in the box. He felt Kagami's hand twitch in recoil and chuckled to himself. He wondered if the guy was always this jumpy.

_Jumpy. Of course he was. That was Kagami's thing, right? _Aomine sniggered to himself at how hilarious he was.

Teasingly, he flicked popcorn up at the redhead's face and received an irritated glare in return. He smirked and was subsequently hit in the face with a handful of popcorn. He just opened his mouth and caught a few pieces smugly. Kagami glowered at Aomine and sulked that he'd failed to annoy him. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was growing used to the arm around his shoulder. Really, Aomine did that frequently anyways…just not in this kind of setting.

* * *

"What do you _mean, _you 'lost them'?" Riko complained in exasperation as she and the other 'spies' scattered after the movie, having lost their targets. "They were just here!"

"I know!" Kise exclaimed crossly, "I swear, I just looked away for a second and then they were..." He let out a distressed sigh, "And Aominecchi and Kagamicchi were just looking so cute -did you see the way they were throwing popcorn?"

"Yes, it was very cute," Kuroko deadpanned, "We're never going to find them!"

"I'll call Imayoshi," Kiyoshi frowned, "Maybe they can track them down?"

"_They could be anywhere_! How could we let them slip away?" Riko sighed heavily, facepalming. Kagami and Aomine unsupervised? Did they even have the capacity to endure a conversation without arguing? Midorima and Takao were probably in hell right now!

* * *

"How did…_you guys_…happen?" Kagami inquired curiously as the four of them, having departed the movie theatre, walked through the park with their dinner of fish and chips upon a bright Takao's suggestion. Aomine had gone and bought a new basketball and was aimlessly spinning it on his finger. Takao raised an eyebrow.

"Really, I thought everyone knew?" he remarked in surprise. Kagami raised an eyebrow. He knew that Kise had made him and Midorima kiss under the mistletoe, but that was really about it. "Uhh, well, you know…Shin-chan's horoscope said that if he put effort into traditions, there was gonna be a positive change in his future, so he uhh…put a lot of effort into…" The point guard trailed off and pointed to his lips vaguely.

"I'm still waiting for that change, believe me," Midorima called back from where he was stalking a pace ahead. Takao smirked over at Kagami.

"He doesn't like to admit that dating me is a good thing," he explained.

" –We're not dating," Midorima retorted flatly.

"Sure you're not," Aomine remarked slyly, glancing over his shoulder and seeing that Takao was currently wearing Midorima's coat; having started shivering after leaving the theatre. Midorima had given him his coat –claiming that he'd be no use at practice if he caught a cold. Apparently, Midorima didn't like the scepticism in the bluenette's voice. Not to mention that Takao had ordered Midorima's food for him at the fish and chip shop.

"But yeah, the next day, when Shin-chan tried to claim that _what happened_ didn't mean anything, and that it was just to obey his horoscope, Miyaji threw a pineapple at him and told him to hurry up and date me," Takao shrugged casually. "Happy ever after since then, right, Shin-chan?"

"No," Midorima replied darkly.

"He's just being tsundere," Takao waved away his response, "He can actually be really cute, you know…Like he does this thing…"

"Takao!" The point guard looked up innocently at the warning look. "…Stop telling people things like that…or I won't do them anymore." Takao just grinned up at his sort-of-boyfriend and zipped his lips.

"Don't worry, I don't want to hear about your sex life, Midorima," Aomine snorted flatly. Midorima queasily turned green with embarrassment as Takao burst out laughing and looped his arm through the shooting guard's.

"See, you're not fooling anyone, Shin-chan," he smirked. Midorima pushed his glasses further up on his nose and refused to make any further comment. Takao took this opportunity to kiss his chin cheekily, and this time, received no protest about the display of affection.

"God, I never thought I'd say this, but they are too cute," Kagami muttered, looking back as he caught up with Aomine. Takao had begun chatting away, and Midorima was apparently pretending that he didn't care what was being said.

"Disgustingly so," Aomine agreed flatly.

"Can we never act like that?" he asked weakly.

"I was about to say the same thing," he responded with a chuckle, "One-on-one?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

Takao comfortably leaned back on the bench as he and Midorima watched the intensity between the two aces build as they battled on the court. It was interesting watching them, and he could see that the pair of them were genuinely enjoying themselves –food forgotten. He could also see that Midorima was unsuccessfully attempting to hide a smile when he placed a hand over his.

"You're thinking that they're good for each other," Takao guessed, following the ace's gaze out to the court, where it wasn't difficult to see that Aomine and Kagami were currently lost in a little, basketball world of their own.

"…Something like that," Midorima replied vaguely, his fingers parting to allow Takao's to slip between them.

"Just like us, right, Shin-chan?" he chuckled with that smile of his. Midorima adjusted his glasses like he sometimes did when he was embarrassed.

"…If you say so, Takao."

* * *

Kagami slumped down on his couch in exhaustion almost as soon as he got home. His limbs were on fire, and he was a little sticky, but he didn't care too much. He didn't even mind that he currently smelled like Aomine. He dumped his dirty shirt on the floor and let out a puff of breath; unable to keep himself from grinning.

Okay, so this evening hadn't turned out to be as terrible as he thought it was going to be. The movie was good –Takao was hilarious, and even spending time with Midorima and Aomine wasn't too bad. They'd had fish and chips (Kagami had been chased by seagulls wanting his), and he'd had an awesome time playing one-on-one with Aomine. The bastard, despite what he said, was actually starting to take him seriously.

He wiped his face with the hoodie he was wearing and immediately got a whiff of Aomine's familiar scent. Subconsciously, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes with a small smile at the strangely comforting smell. Takao had gone and spilt soda all over him (probably on purpose, since he later heard the point guard being scolded by Midorima for being up to something –which Takao innocently denied) –and his shirt had gotten unbearably sticky. Aomine had reluctantly given up his hoodie for him to walk home in (upon Takao's prompting), and Kagami had changed right then and there.

Realising that it was fucking _creepy_ to be smelling Aomine's clothing, he dragged his face away from the fabric and tucked his hands into his pockets as he looked up at the roof. Hanging out with Aomine was…

…It was okay. And in terms of his first date...it could've gone worse. Well, it was with that Ahomine, which had never been in his plans...but it was okay.

Sure, they'd had a popcorn fight, and then a chip fight, and then an all-out one-on-one war, but it was…fun. He reckoned he could maybe handle doing that a bit more. After all, apart from the whole arm-around-him thing during the movie, it was kind of like hanging out as…_friends_…right? He chuckled to himself. The concept of he and Aomine actually as _friends_ was kind of foreign, but he did have the feeling that maybe, once this was all over, it wasn't outside the realms of possibility.

* * *

Aomine, meanwhile, was sitting at his computer and musing over the conversation he'd had with Midorima on the way home as he sifted through some of the blogs reporting on his 'relationship' with Kagami. Already, there were pictures being posted of the pair of them at the movie theatre and in the park –jeez, there was even one of Kagami stripping off his shirt to take Aomine's hoodie.

He noticed in annoyance that in that photo, his gaze appeared to be directed towards Kagami's sculpted stomach (which a number of females had quickly pointed out). Tch, passing glance. Unfortunate timing.

Well, at least in some of these pictures they kinda looked couple-y…Though he was a little bothered that they'd managed to capture him smiling in a few of them. God, it had to be believable, but he didn't want it _that_ believable…

* * *

_"Kuroko informed me of the situation with the pictures," Midorima remarked sternly, after Kagami had departed home. _

_"Hah? Oh yeah…that thing. Seirin were dicks about it," Aomine muttered mutinously. _

_"Seirin's a good team," Takao frowned, "I'm sure they didn't mean to be spiteful about it. Kagami was telling me that he knew it was just a joke, really. Said that if he was 'made' to do something, the others would help him out –and their captain would feel bad about it and shout them burgers." He chuckled. "No pineapples being thrown there…" Midorima glared at him for making light of the situation. _

_"Nonetheless," he mused, "They took the joke too far. I'm surprised Kagami isn't angrier." _

_"He's soft," Aomine shrugged with a snort, "And you know him…he's…_kind_." _

_"Was that a _compliment_ I hear?" Midorima mocked smugly, and blue eyes glared over at him dangerously. _

_"He knows they didn't mean for this to happen," Takao piped up, "And I mean, they're sorry –which, you know…wouldn't cut it for guys like the two of you that try to pretend you're heartless –" Both Miracles glared at him but he was unruffled by such gazes. "But Kagami's different. And, you know…" he scratched his chin with a wicked gleam in his eye, "I don't think he hates the photos as much as he thinks he does…or at least what's going on in…" A fist met the top of his head as Midorima unsubtly indicated for him to shut his mouth. Aomine scowled at Takao suspiciously but the point guard said nothing further on the matter. _

_"In any case, I think your fans have been following us," Midorima added, "Expect photos on the internet this evening. That will aid you in this charade." _

_"Great," Aomine had drawled drably. "Just great." _

* * *

With his chin resting in one hand, Aomine sighed to himself, loath to admit that he'd had an okay time tonight. It wasn't as weird or as boring as he'd thought, and Midorima was okay (but as strange as ever) to hang out with. The basketball had been great fun. He always enjoyed playing with Kagami -though he'd always deny it -and the pair of them had found a bonding point as they sniggered between themselves about how ridiculously in denial Midorima was being about his relationship with Takao.

His phone rang.

_"_AOMINE-KUN! How was your date!" Satsuki's voice blared out as he answered, making him cringe.

"Shut up…" he grumbled, still scrolling through pictures. "It was fine."

"Did you have fun? How was Midorin? How was Kagamin? Did you kiss him goodbye?"

"No, I didn't," Aomine snorted darkly.

"Aww, but Aomine-kun! That's tradition! It wouldn't hurt to show a bit more affection –"

"Tch, it's bad enough I'm going along with this," he scoffed flatly, "You better give my DVDs back when this is over –and don't tell my mom about them. What, you want me to frolic and snuggle with the idiot?"

"Of course!" she squealed in delight, "That would be just –" He rolled his eyes and let her trail off. "…When are you seeing him again?"

"I don't know? Tomorrow?" he shrugged vaguely, "We're meeting at the courts."

"Ooh, a second date?"

"Basketball, Satsuki." His tone was final, informing her that this conversation was over.

"Oh…" she sounded disappointed, "Well, I'm glad that you had a good time! You sound so happy! I can hear you smiling over the phone! Bye-bye!" He was about to declare that you couldn't _hear_ smiles, but then caught sight of his reflection on the computer screen and discovered to his shock that he _was_ smiling like some kind of idiot –and couldn't get rid of it even when he physically made an attempt. He snapped his phone shut and sighed in resignation, reading through the comments about how 'in love' he and Kagami always looked in photos. Gross.

Really, if being seen going to a movie and playing basketball together was all it took for the world to think they were together, then maybe this wasn't too bad after all. Although, if he thought about it; having his arm around Kagami really hadn't been that much extra effort, and it wasn't so bad...

* * *

**I love Takao and I love Midorima. I hope you enjoyed the little 'date'. Things are progressing, ever so slowly. But it's still early days... not to mention, Aomine and Kagami aren't known to do things by halves, right? **

**Maybe they'll surprise everyone. After all, they managed to make it through a date unsupervised! **

**xx K**


	6. Chapter 6

**A new chapter! Happy reading, my dears! **

* * *

Kagami clamped a hand over one side of his face as pain rocketed through his cheek. Stumbling backwards, he glowered at the guy that had had the gall to bring his elbow down swinging. These guys were playing dirty…but only because they knew that they were getting destroyed.

"Oi, play fair," he snarled at one of the guys currently marking him. The guy just smirked and pouted mockingly as he bounced the basketball casually.

"Aw, why don't you just go crying to your little boyfriend?" he simpered –but that was all he managed to say before Aomine came blazing in from nowhere, and stole the ball with enough force to send the guy flying to the concrete on his ass. None of the opposition stood a chance as an insulted Aomine flew by to land a fierce dunk.

He dropped to the ground and spun around with a very, very dangerous look in his eyes.

"Anyone else have a problem?" he drawled aggressively, eyeing the guys currently picking themselves up from the ground and their friends watching in horror from the side-lines.

Aomine and Kagami had been having a "nice" game of one-on-one at the courts in the park, when a bunch of guys had come up with the intent of starting some kind of fight. They'd started calling them names –which both of them had drowned out; too focused on each other.

But then the guys had started messing with their basketball.

Not the item specifically, but more the way they played. They were claiming that the two were going easy on each other; that being together had made them soft. In the last two or three weeks, pictures of the pair of them had been popping up all over the internet, and it seemed that people were thinking that both of them were losing their edge because of each other.

Not to mention, these particular guys reckoned that guys stooping to date each other could only be pansies at heart –and, being close-minded, thought it was weird and kind of gross.

Kagami and Aomine had no problem with proving them wrong; hence why it was suddenly two on five, and why the challengers were snivelling in the dust.

"Tell me," Aomine remarked dryly as he stood over the supposed leader of the group, "Am I losing my edge?" The guy just looked up and scooted backwards –the fear of the ace's wrath completely renewed. "I thought so," he sneered, and glanced around to where it appeared that their completely dominating performance had been videoed.

"Come on, Kagami," Aomine remarked with a yawn, stalking over to the redhead; picking up the ball as he did so and smirking as the asshole squirmed away. "These guys are boring me."

"Tch, don't order me around," Kagami snapped irritably as they headed over to get their things; shooting warning glances at the pricks that had decided to take on one of the Generation of Miracles and his spitfire 'boyfriend'. He glared openly at them, and deciding that he needed to prove a point that there was nothing wrong with having a boyfriend, he held out his hand –though avoided looking Aomine in the eye while doing so.

Aomine let out a low scoff as he shouldered his bag, and reluctantly slipped his hand into Kagami's in embarrassment. The pair of them stalked from the courts, hand in hand –with a crowd of spectators and those assholes watching incredulously.

"Gross, your hand's all sweaty," Aomine grumbled under his breath as their hands subtly fought to clasp in different ways. Sure, they'd been pretending to be boyfriends for almost five weeks now…but it was still awkward holding hands and they weren't used to it –and hence didn't do it often. Someone behind them started clapping in appreciation for the statement the pair was making, and Kagami blushed.

"…You smell like feet," he shot back lowly, glaring over at Aomine and trying to lace their fingers so it was more comfortable. Both their hands were slick with sweat, so it was proving to be most difficult.

"…Your face looks shit," Aomine snorted back flatly with a glare, shoulder roughly bumping him.

"Quit it, jackass," Kagami muttered crossly, subtly shoving him back.

" –Stop moving your hand…" he complained.

"No, _you_ stop it!"

* * *

"…And so yeah, that's what happened," Kagami sighed heavily with a bag of frozen peas held gingerly to one side of his face as he pressed his phone to his other ear. "My face is fucking sore and Aomine's being stubborn, Takao…we won't be able to make it tonight."

"No problem," Takao chirped cheerfully from the other end of the phone, "Anyway, Shin-chan's sulking because you guys beat us in that practice match today."

"I am _not_ sulking!" Midorima could be heard snapping from the background and Kagami laughed heartily as Takao added, "We almost missed the bus back because he was crying in the bathroom –"

"Takao!"

"So yeah, can we meet up like –Aomine?" Kagami hollered to confirm when would be good for him.

"Hah? Mmm…Tomorrow…" Aomine hummed back; definitely uninterested in the conversation.

"Tomorrow?" Kagami conveyed, before catching sight of Aomine sprawled out of his sofa. His eyes narrowed, "Oi! Ahomine –I told you to keep your fucking shoes off my couch! Quit it!"

"Tch, you're starting to sound like Satsuki," came Aomine's drawl, "Oi, I'm having a shower. Get me a towel."

"I'm not your mother, dammit," Kagami snorted flatly and rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Go home and use your own shower –"

"Too much effort," Aomine shrugged, lazily rolling off the couch and heading down to find a towel in the hall cupboard. Kagami let out a groan into the phone and then cringed as he pressed to hard against his sore cheek.

"Can you believe that guy?" he snorted crossly, and could've sworn he heard giggling from the other end of the line. "Takao? Is there a girl with you?"

"Nope," Takao lied smoothly, looking across the bed he was lying on to where Riko, Momoi, Kise and Kuroko were all sitting, staring gleefully at the cell-phone lying on the bed on speakerphone. Kise was clutching at Takao's pillow in delight, practically burying his face in it to stop himself from laughing out loud. "Shin-chan's…watching soap operas…" Riko made a 'are you kidding me' face at the point guard, who just shrugged helplessly.

"Oh…fair enough…" Kagami replied from the other end of the line; apparently seeming to buy this.

"Shut up Takao. I am not!" Midorima snorted hotly from where he was doing his homework at Takao's desk. For once, his denial was the truth, but since he so often denied everything that Takao said, Kagami overlooked this.

" –Oi, Bakagami –is this my fucking shirt?" Aomine could be heard complaining in the background.

"Moron; you loaned it to me, remember?" Kagami retorted.

"Gross…"

"I washed it, bastard," he snapped, "Hey, what are you doing going through my shit?"

"Looking for clothes, obviously," Aomine droned and they all sniggered when they heard Kagami curse in annoyance. There was the sound of a door opening and then a shout of, "Seriously?" followed by what sounded like a facepalm.

"What's wrong, Kagami?" Takao inquired gleefully.

"…Bastard's stripping," the redhead grumbled and the point guard roared with laughter –thankfully covering up Kise's giggles. "Ugh. I can't believe this guy sometimes. I gotta go. We'll see you tomorrow –_Aomine_, quit leaving your shit everywhere, you don't live here..." He ended the call, and Kise immediately broke out into explosive laughter.

"Kise-kun…so loud…" Kuroko cringed, and Midorima glared over at him in agreement.

"Oh they're too cute," Riko complained playfully as she sifted blogs looking for pictures of the pair of them. "Kagami-kun seems to be struggling a little…"

"Aomine-kun is enjoying himself," Momoi informed her with a light laugh, "He always goes home smiling after your dates, Midorin," she added with a kind smile, "And I always call him after and he sounds happy."

"I don't see why," Takao commented with a sly look over at Midorima, "Shin-chan always acts so grumpy and unfriendly. I suppose Kagami manages to make up for that though. I can't believe they managed to get in a fight over ice cream…" He rolled his eyes.

" –Ice cream?" Kuroko inquired curiously.

"Didn't I tell you guys?" he remarked in surprise, "On our last date, it was hot after playing some basketball so we went and got ice cream. Aomine said something about Kagami eating like a pig, and Kagami got mad –long story short, they ended up feeding each other." Riko and Momoi squealed in delight, clapping their hands together, and Kise immediately hollered, "Pictures or it didn't happen!"

"They weren't so much 'feeding' each other as trying to choke each other," Midorima corrected, adjusting his glasses as Takao handed his phone over to Kise. The blonde's mouth fell open and the others immediately crowded around him. Their eyes bulged as they saw that _yes_ Aomine and Kagami each had a spoonful of ice cream and appeared to be trying to shove it down the other's throat.

But they were both laughing.

Momoi's expression burst into one of happiness, and she looked over at Kuroko, who was smiling softly at the look of genuine enjoyment that Aomine was wearing on his face; one eye closed and his mouth in a sly, triumphant grin as he batted away Kagami's free hand while the redhead's other tried to force the ice cream into his face. The next picture was one of Midorima disinterestedly holding out a spoonful of ice cream –obviously to Takao, who was taking the photo.

"Aww…Midorimacchi…" Kise chuckled, waggling the picture at him.

"Takao, I thought you said you deleted that!" Midorima scowled.

" –But you just looked so cute that…" Takao complained, and rolled his eyes, "Uhh…Kise –don't go past that –" Kise suddenly recoiled with a stunned look on his face. He blinked several times and then stared at Midorima, and then up at the roof, and then back to the photo. Takao chuckled nervously and swiped the phone away from him.

"Wow…I…I don't think I'll ever see you the same way," Kise teased, a hand clamped over his mouth. Midorima's look soured and he glared at the all-too innocent Takao.

"…You deleted _that_ one…right?" he demanded to know.

"I distinctly remember _saying_ I did…" Takao admitted with a snigger as Riko and Momoi demanded to know the contents of the picture; not knowing that it was, in fact, a picture of Midorima's flushed face and bare upper body. There was an arm –obviously Takao's –reaching up from underneath him and encircling his neck and the naked green eyes of the shooting guard were filled with desire. Kise whispered a brief description to them, and both young women turned red, Momoi scolding, "Midorin! I never knew you were so naughty!"

"Trust me when I say that Takao is the naughty one in our relationship," Midorima corrected in a dark tone, not even caring that all of the others present (including Takao) snickered wildly at this. The spectacled shooting guard glowered at them and flushed; excusing himself to get a glass of water.

"…He likes it when I'm naughty…" Takao whispered to Kise, and the blonde burst out into a fresh wave of laughter, with a, "_I heard that, Takao_!" being hollered from the hallway. "_Delete it_!"

"But you looked so –"

"Say _cute_ and I'm leaving."

"I was going to say 'hot!" Takao assured him. There was silence for a moment, and for a second, they all wondered if he'd thought that that equated to cute and had decided to leave. But then there was the response of, "…That's better…" and the giggling started all over again.

Midorima returned a few minutes later with juice for everyone, because apparently Takao 'wasn't being a very good host'. But he did express his displeasure (once again) that Takao had suddenly started thinking it was a good idea to invite 'these people' around.

"But how else are we going to get the _real_ gossip?" Momoi pouted, "Aomine-kun downplays _everything_ and Riko-san says that Kagamin just gets all embarrassed when she asks!"

"Exactly," Takao agreed with a grin and then gave them a reassuring chuckle, "Shin-chan loves getting to hang out with you guys though, even if he says he doesn't."

"Takao…" Midorima sighed heavily.

"…Do you think he's in a bad mood because we're cock-blocking him?" Kise whispered teasingly, and Takao broke out laughing as Momoi blushed sweetly. Midorima's ears were flaming.

"There's no need to join in," he grumbled, glaring at Takao, who just casually rolled off the bed and moved over to kiss his sometimes-boyfriend on the cheek. Midorima ignored the gesture and adjusted his glasses.

"We've got a date with Aomine and Kagami tomorrow," Takao reminded him.

"Not interested."

" –You're so mean to your boyfriend, Midorin," Momoi sighed heavily.

"Nah," Takao shrugged lightly, "You just have to learn to speak his language. He's looking forward to it. I think he's actually starting to like spending time with me, am I right, Shin-chan?" Midorima just rolled his eyes in exasperation and grumbled something under his breath, but didn't deny it.

* * *

Kagami grumbled to himself as he started clearing up the remnants of their take-out; Aomine of course not having bothered to help with that. God, the bastard pissed him off –and he was almost certain he did it on purpose.

It had been a tiring three weeks, filled with 'public appearances' and 'dates' with Midorima and Takao –that he had to admit, were kind of fun. Mostly, he and Aomine just played basketball together then got take out, and he was okay with it. Going one-on-one with Aomine was great practice, and their battles were never the same. It was invigorating and exciting, and despite himself, he always looked forward to meeting up for a game.

He'd been somehow roped into going to one or two of Touou's practice games –_that_ had been embarrassing; mostly because to one of them, he'd accidentally worn one of Aomine's shirts that he'd borrowed and forgotten to return after a particularly strenuous match in the park. The Touou team –well, _Imayoshi_ –had noticed, and had pointed it out. The fact that he was wearing Aomine's clothes was okay, because well, they were meant to be together, so that sort of thing was expected. The embarrassing part was how comfortable and not weird it was for him.

"Hurry up in there!" Kagami snapped crossly, banging on the bathroom door and heading over to his laptop sitting on the coffee table to start sifting through the blogs. A few minutes later, Aomine emerged from the bathroom, clad only in his towel as he headed to riffle through the fridge for something to eat.

"Get your own food," Kagami rolled his eyes, but heard Aomine grab something nonetheless. The smell of soap and dampness wafted over as Aomine strode over to observe what Kagami was reading. "Jeez, I can't believe this…There are still heaps of fucking people out there that don't believe we're together!" He glanced over his shoulder, feeling breath on his ear and let out an annoyed snort, "Put some clothes on, will you?" His eyes were automatically drawn to Aomine's chest for a brief moment before returning to the computer screen.

"I was hungry," Aomine snorted obnoxiously, taking a bite of the apple he'd found in the fridge. "Yeah; those assholes are spreading shit –" he added, with his mouth full; jabbing a finger at the picture on the screen. It was a shot of the two of them hanging out at the mall together, "Look how fucking couple-y we look! It's weird!"

"I know, right?" Kagami groaned, facepalming as Aomine padded off to steal some of his clothes.

"How much longer do we have to do this?" Aomine complained loudly.

"I dunno," he called back, scanning through the comments and discovering that there was a large proportion of people out there that seemed to think that their 'relationship' was too _forced_ –too much like an arranged marriage or some stunt.

"Well it's getting old," he grumbled, "And I want my fucking porn back…"

"What does porn have to do with it?" he raised an eyebrow.

"…Satsuki's holding it hostage," he muttered dejectedly, "To make sure I 'keep playing along'. I hate these fucking rumours, so I want them gone…but it's hard pretending to be dating a moron like you."

"Hey, shut up! You're no Prince Charming either!" Kagami snapped crossly as the bluenette reappeared in the living room wearing some of Kagami's clothes. He slung himself down on the couch and put his feet up on the redhead obnoxiously. Kagami glared at him in annoyance.

"Although…" Aomine muttered, his bored tone becoming increasingly dangerous. "If people start doubting my basketball…then that, I can't allow."

Kagami was a little surprised at the look on Aomine's face. Through this whole thing, he'd been the less bothered by the rumours of the two of them –even claiming that only the weak cared what other people thought of them; which was apparently why Kagami got all embarrassed. But to hear him now, he was taking those rumours seriously. And he understood where he was coming from.

It was one thing to have people thinking that he and Aomine were together, and something completely different for them to start not taking him seriously in the game he loved because of that.

"So what's the deal?" Kagami inquired with a short laugh as Aomine looked pained.

"…Satsuki stole my porn and threatened to give it to my mom," he explained, "But I bet Tetsu had something to do with it. He felt bad for what went on with you, so he's making sure I help you out." He sounded distinctly annoyed at this and Kagami laughed. Trust Kuroko to think that Aomine would probably need a bit of incentive to keep his naturally abrasive personality in check. That guy was too clever for his own good sometimes.

"But make no mistake…I'm doing this for me." Kagami rolled his eyes in exasperation. Really, bloody Aomine just couldn't pass up the chance to make some selfish comment, could he?

"Ugh," Kagami added as he spied yet _another_ picture of Aomine flirting with some busty young women –photos apparently that served as 'proof' that Aomine was currently not attached to someone. "Maybe people would believe it more, if you stopped chasing skirts," he advised, spinning the laptop to show him. Aomine waved away his protest without even bothering to look at the photo.

Kagami frowned to himself, shoving Aomine's legs away from him as he immersed himself in thought. The sooner the world believed…the sooner they could break things off…and the sooner this could all be over. So far, the world wasn't really buying them just being seen together in public. To be fair, a lot of those pictures was just them playing basketball…_maybe_ one or two of them holding hands. Nothing like that screamed _relationship_ or anything.

"Are you going to the street-ball tournament next week?" he inquired suddenly.

"Hah? Uhh…no," Aomine snorted, "No one worth my time."

"It's apparently locally televised," Kagami continued conversationally.

"So?"

"…Uhh…If you know…we…" he scratched his head and sighed, "I don't know. It could be a chance to show everyone that we're couple…or something like that?" He found himself going red at the suggestion. Ugh, he hated the way he blushed sometimes. It made him feel like he was just so _innocent_, when really he was just embarrassed at having to say such things to fucking _Aomine_. He didn't want to be _planning dates_ with him.

"Whatever," Aomine snorted, and he deadpanned. Seriously, _this guy_ was the one who managed to bring out the best in him on the court? This lazy asshole with a major superiority complex was the fearsome tyrant of the basketball court?

Unbelievable.

And he had to pretend he was in a relationship with him; the arrogant, condescending, constantly bored, brooding, uncaring, selfish, intolerable jackass –okay, he was exaggerating a little. Aomine was okay –he'd at least found that out in the last few weeks. But even if he was kind of funny, and amazing at basketball, and okay to hang out with; and you know…not _ugly_ –for a guy –he was still all of those other negatives.

So who the hell would _actually_ want to date him?

* * *

**Familiarity makes the heart grow fonder, right? And what sort of trouble might happen at the streetball tournament? ****_God I love Takao. _****  
Hope you enjoyed! **

**xx K**


	7. Chapter 7

**Please note, I have no idea about how to run a street-ball competition. I just kinda wanted to use the teams shown in the picture-story in the end credits of the anime. **

**Also…this chapter is huge. Oh my god. Why did it get so big? **

**But…things have been going well…so you know what that means…bumps in the road are abound. It can't be happy days all the time, right? **

* * *

There was something exciting about playing in a different environment, like this, Takao thought to himself as he casually spun a basketball on one finger as he leaned up against the nearby lamppost. Having a tournament in the park was always a nice change –so different from the huge stadiums and fluorescent lights. There was something a bit more _wild_ about the park, and he was glad he'd managed to convince Shin-chan to come.

Well, if he ever arrived, that was.

"Tch, he's probably having trouble finding today's lucky item," he mused to himself aloud, shaking his head incredulously. Most people would say that Midorima was late because he wasn't coming, but Takao had managed to weasel a 'fine' (albeit reluctantly) from him, so he knew that he wouldn't let him down.

It was exciting also, because this particular tournament had been so widely advertised that a local camera crew had caught wind of it and had decided to air footage from some of the games. Well-known players from the likes of Shutoku and Touou would be seen in a less 'competitive' environment, and other guys who just wanted to band together and play would get the chance to prove themselves as strong players.

It was a cool idea. He was pretty sure that Momoi and Riko had decided that the most exciting way to do things would be to just mix things up for a change and merge teams –what had they said; to 'ensure that their rivalry became more friendly and a little less unhealthy'? He'd agreed, but, for one thing, hadn't mentioned that that had been the primary aim of the Christmas party –and look how that had turned out. He also hadn't informed Shin-chan that this was the arrangement.

He wondered how Kagami and Aomine would react to this news. He didn't even know if Kuroko had wound up on the same team as either of them. He'd heard rumour that Kise and his babysitter –no one let Kasamatsu hear them calling him that –had turned out for the event, so hoped that Momoi and Riko had allowed for that.

Suddenly, just as he thought of Kagami and Aomine, he was certain that he heard their names mentioned, and turned around curiously a group of six –maybe two teams of three –stalking past him and talking just loud enough to be overheard.

" –Tch, god I hope those two don't turn up," one of them was growling under his breath.

"Yeah –like we need a bunch of gay guys running around with us," another sneered, "…Who'd want to be marking one of those guys –they'd probably just _enjoy_ rubbing up on you…"

"Why are guys like them even _allowed_ to play?" a third added spitefully, "That Kagami and Aomine are giving basketball a fucking bad name…"

"Is it even safe for us –"

"Funny," Takao remarked lightly, though his eyes were cold as he turned to survey them, "You lot sure seem to think a lot of yourselves." He caught his basketball in one hand and gazed at them coolly as they all stopped and stared at him. "…Kagami and Aomine have no interest in you."

"Tch, beat it," the first one he'd heard grunted condescendingly, "This isn't your business."

"It kind of is," Takao replied icily, "You have no right to say that gays are giving basketball a bad name. I'd bet money they could destroy you –but they wouldn't, because they don't care about the weak."

"What did you say, you little punk," another stepped forwards and yanked Takao into the air by his shirt. The point guard just waved a hand at him playfully.

"I didn't mean offense," he informed him simply –in a tone that really indicated quite the opposite, "I'm just stating a fact. Anyway, you really must be full of yourselves to think that gay guys would be attracted to _you_." He quirked an eyebrow mockingly.

"And what would you know about a gay guy's preferences?" one of their number glared.

" –Bet _he's_ one of them," another sneered spitefully. Takao just shrugged.

"And so what if I am?" he sniffed with a small smile, suddenly finding that the guy holding him had released him and was backing away as though he had some kind of disease. "Keep your trashy thoughts to yourselves, why don't you?" He gave them a bright smile, "…This is a _friendly_ tournament after all, right?"

"We're entitled to our opinions," one of them spat back at him and he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah…but that doesn't mean you have to be pricks about it," he reminded them, and his gaze iced over, "Kagami and Aomine are good guys and strong players, and I'm not gonna just listen to you bitching about them just because they're together and not with girls."

"Maybe you need to learn to keep out of private conversations," one of them snarled, stepping forwards with a dark intent in his expression. Takao was familiar with that expression, and it made him sad to realise that there were people out there that weren't as understanding as his teammates, or his other friends. He took a step backwards, but they followed –joining in.

"Ooh, where'd that smart mouth of yours go?" another goaded as he backed away, "What're you gonna do? Go crying to your little _boyfriend_?" Takao was about to spit back that his boyfriend was by no means little, but decided against it. Shin-chan was more easily embarrassed than him, and rather obviously not as open as him about their relationship. Dragging him into this would be plain unfair to him –especially if he didn't want his opponents learning such personal things about him.

So he just clamped his mouth shut and glared.

"Aww, the punk doesn't even have a boyfriend," one of the guys simpered, "…Just a sad, lonely little cocksucker –" Takao took another step back and suddenly collided into something solid. Worried that he'd hit the lamppost and managed to block his escape, he looked over his shoulder, only to see a familiar bespectacled face looking down with a rather displeased expression.

"Is there a problem here, Takao?" Midorima inquired darkly, not looking away from the group of ruffians that had approached the mischievous point guard.

"Ehe…not at all, Shin-chan," he assured him, spying an old fashioned polaroid camera held in the shooting guard's hand. Oh, so he'd found his bloody lucky item, had he?

"…I'm sorry I'm late," Midorima continued, his voice icy, "…Is there a problem here?" he repeated, this time directing it at the guys who had been advancing. A few of them backed down, since Midorima towered over them by a considerable amount, but the rest of them just stared back with dirty sneers plastered across their faces.

"This asshole doesn't know to keep out of other people's fucking business," the foremost snarled.

"I'm well aware. But I suggest you leave," he interrupted, before the scoundrel could say anything more.

"Oh, and you're going to make me, four-eyes?" he snorted back daringly. "You're supporting this fucking gay here?" Midorima's green eyes flashed, reading the situation fairly clearly now.

"I am indeed," he replied haughtily, "So if you have a problem, take it up with me."

"…Shin-chan…" Takao sighed, shaking his head incredulously. It was a…beautiful gesture, but who was he kidding? His Shin-chan didn't condone violence –although, there was an aggression in his eyes that he hadn't seen before. It sent a shudder through his spine, and he discovered that he kind of liked it.

"Eh –Midorima –what's taking so long?" a lazy voice commented from nearby, and Takao smirked as he saw Aomine Daiki himself sling an arm around the shoulder of the guy closest to him, "These jackasses giving you problems?" His expression was dull, but there was an ice to his voice that apparently all of these guys could hear –and it filled them (rightly so) with fear.

"These guys seem to have a problem with gays," Takao commented conversationally, "Afraid of them, or something." He laughed as though this was the most absurd suggestion in the world –obviously startling the guys around him with his dramatic change in demeanour.

"Is that so?" Midorima remarked darkly, adjusting his glasses as Aomine leered across the circle to another of their opponents –his eyes practically crackling with violence that his body was currently not displaying.

"…Maybe we should give them a reason to be afraid…" Aomine remarked, his voice laced with a threat before he yawned and became languid once again, "…What do you say, Kagami?"

Two of the guys in the group suddenly froze in something akin to terror as two huge, strong arms wrapped around the pair of them. They glanced sideways, to discover to their horror, that there was a red-haired giant between them with a menacingly challenging look on his face. They stammered a disjointed garble of words before escaping from his touch and skittering away –their leader and the rest of them quickly following. Kagami and Aomine just turned in unison and scoffed at their pig-headedness and let their expressions soften.

"What was that about?" Kagami inquired with a frown.

"Oh…uhh…" Takao scratched his head sheepishly, "I heard them saying that gay guys are giving basketball a bad name and…I couldn't let it go…" He suddenly found Midorima shoving past him rather crossly as Kagami growled to Aomine, "Don't fucking go after them, Ahomine! We'll just beat them on the court –" To which the bluenette just glared and remembered that if he misbehaved, Momoi would surrender his porn up to his mother.

"Don't do such foolish things, Takao," Midorima scolded, glancing back at the point guard with a frown marring his expression. Most people would have thought that he was being abrasive purely for the purpose of being abrasive…but Takao knew him better than that.

"…I won't…" he pouted, falling into step behind him, "…Sorry to worry you, Shin-chan…" Midorima just stuck his nose in the air with a cross, "Hmph," to cover his embarrassment at being seen through so easily.

"By the way, Takao," Kagami remarked conversationally, before his voice became rather pained, "Coach told me to tell you that you're with me and the bastard…" he glared over at Aomine, and Takao practically stumbled as Aomine dug his hands into his pockets –also displeased by this situation. He stared at them. "Yeah…I don't know how…but me and Aomine wound up on the same team…" Takao just laughed brightly to lighten the mood.

"Oh, this is gonna be _fun –_won't it, Shin-chan!"

"I'm with Hyuga and Imayoshi, so I doubt it." This apparently made Takao laugh even harder. Well, he'd found out that they were mixing the teams…and he'd still stuck around –so that wasn't too bad!

" –All the glasses-guys got put together?" he chuckled incredulously, "That's hilarious! Oh god, you guys are gonna be just so cute!" Midorima shot him a dark –almost _jealous_ glare and he covered his mouth to muffle his laughter, "…Sorry, Shin-chan…you're the only one that's cute…" Again, Midorima stuck his nose in the air and adjusted his glasses. _Double embarrassment. _

Kagami and Aomine just blinked in astonishment and exchanged glances with a shrug.

"They're fucking weird," Aomine deadpanned.

"…You got that right," Kagami sighed in agreement.

* * *

"Oi! He was passing to me!"

"Hah? Well you were just so slow in receiving it so I just–"

"_Ahomine, we're on the same team!_" Kagami growled as the pair of them stood shoulder to shoulder and stared each other; sparks flying between their gazes. Takao just spun the ball on his finger for the moment and gave the other team –who were being completely dominated –an apologetic look. A quick glance across the courts told him that Shin-chan's game was about to start; he, Imayoshi and Hyuga all cleaning their glasses in preparation. In the background, it appeared that Kuroko had noticed this and was making a face that Kise was laughing at.

"Kagami –" Takao called out, but the whistle went, indicating that their game was over anyway. Kagami and Aomine apparently didn't even acknowledge this.

"Seriously –quit doing that; we're meant to be working as a _team_," Kagami snorted crossly, only for Aomine to brush him off and stalk off the court with a dismissive wave.

"Lecture me when you get more points than me," he scoffed daringly.

"Okay, you're on," the redhead growled hotly, looking at Takao and making an exasperated face –pointing after the bluenette to indicate that he was being a jackass.

"Play nice," Takao tittered with a cheeky grin, shouldering him companionably. "Let's not let basketball be the thing that wrecks your relationship?" Kagami deadpanned and glared at him. Oh, that was right…he'd been caught up in Aomine being a selfish dick during their game that he'd kind of forgotten that they were still keeping up this façade. Sure, he'd suggested to Aomine that they take advantage of the publicity to convince everyone they were together…but if they kept warring like this then it was going to prove difficult…

They had a break before their next game, so headed over to sit on the grass overlooking Midorima's game. Kagami pulled out some lunch he'd made, and Takao chuckled when he saw Aomine eyeing it with a touch of interest.

Kagami saw a tanned hand slink in and swipe something from the meal sitting in front of him and he glared over at Aomine as he tossed the morsel into his mouth.

"Oi, get your own!" he complained, tugging it away, only Aomine to reach across him with a flicker of annoyance crossing his eyes.

" –Satsuki's got mine," he drawled reaching over as Kagami held it away from him and pushed an elbow into his face to keep him at bay, "And she can't cook for shit."

"Well too bad," Kagami snorted, "It's mine." Aomine smirked suddenly, and Kagami felt a wave of dread washing over him as the other ace lunged forwards and snatched the box from him, sending the pair of them toppling to the ground.

Takao burst out laughing –loud enough to distract Hyuga, who was playing, and cause him to miss his shot. Takao was not at all apologetic though, because this was just too hilarious.

Currently, Kagami was flat on his back on the grass, lunch box held out behind him at arm's length. Aomine's hand was triumphantly in the food, nabbing a handful, but the ace himself had fallen directly on top of Kagami; their bodies lined up and their gazes locked.

"Get off me, _Ahomine_," Kagami complained, wriggling underneath him as Takao held his sides in helpless laughter. Aomine rolled off him; snatching the lunch box with him and, as he crossed his legs, promptly began eating Kagami's lunch. The redhead rolled back into a sitting position and snapped, "Hey! Give that back! I was eating th –" His sentence was promptly cut off as a bored-looking Aomine took a rather large chunk of food between two fingers and stuffed it in Kagami's huge mouth.

There was surprise plastered all over the redhead's face as Aomine withdrew his fingers and went back to the food.

"You talk too much," he droned, as Kagami slowly chewed and then swallowed, surprise being replaced with a scowl. The redhead pouted, and snatched the box back, grudgingly placing it between them and mutinously picking at it whilst avoiding looking at the smug bluenette.

"Aomine-kun, there you are!" Momoi hollered, jogging over with a bright wave, "…I hope you're not stealing Kagamin's food _again_!" Aomine just rolled his eyes, looking away with his mouth full of food. "I made you lunch so you wouldn't keep doing that!" Momoi glanced at the highly amused Takao and sighed heavily as she noticed that Kagami was grudgingly sharing.

* * *

Aomine scratched the back of his head and then tucked his hands into his pockets as he slowly traipsed towards the court that their next game was apparently being played on. Takao was off bugging Midorima and Kagami had gone off to buy something else to eat, claiming that he was still hungry since Aomine had eaten half his lunch.

Well, if the idiot had learnt to start making two lunches, he wouldn't have this problem.

He yawned. This whole thing was so boring. He wished he and Kagami had wound up on different teams. Despite his whole 'the only one who can beat me is me' philosophy, Kagami kept him entertained and he was an interesting opponent. But, if they beat these guys, then he was pretty sure he'd heard that they'd be playing Tetsu and Kise next –so maybe that would be a little less tedious than the rest of these games.

He was the first of their team of three to arrive, and was a little annoyed about it. Their opponents were already there taking some practice shots since there wasn't currently another game on. Usually, he wasn't concerned with other peoples' conversations, but these guys were talking too loud for him to ignore.

"You saw who we're up against right?" a guy with glasses remarked distastefully.

"Hell yeah," another –a blonde –replied excitedly, "Can't believe we get to go head to head with one of the Generation of Miracles!"

"That's not who I'm talking about," Glasses scoffed flatly, "He's got that fucking wannabe on his team too…"

"Who…oh…not this again, man…" a third guy with a weird mole on his chin commented in exasperation, "Seriously, let it go? Do you really care if they're dating?"

"Tch," Glasses sniffed, "Of course I care that they're _dating_. It's bad enough that we had to find out that one of the strongest players out there is _gay –_but mostly I care that there's some punk-ass rookie trying to make a name for himself by using the Generation of Miracles!"

"Using?" Blonde frowned –apparently not as used to this speech as Mole.

" –Oh come on," Glasses rolled his eyes, as Mole sank an impressive three-pointer, "That Kagami guy's obviously dating Aomine so that people start noticing him!"

"What are you talking about?" Blonde sighed, holding the ball in confusion.

"Aomine Daiki's like the most well-known player in the region," Glasses reasoned, "This Kagami guy's from Seirin –who the fuck's heard of Seirin? He's obviously just trying to hang off Aomine's reputation. Bet he's the one who fucking turned the guy gay in the first place."

"I don't know man –I've heard he's strong," Blonde frowned sceptically.

"Tch, please. Didn't you hear about what happened at one of the big tournaments?" Glasses reminded them, "_Obviously_ Kagami's dating him so that Aomine will go easy on him and shit. He knows he can't beat him, so he's playing dirty. Or maybe he's hoping some of that talent will rub off on him."

"Jeez, man that's pretty low," Blonde frowned, "…But they look really…well…good together in those pictures I've seen –"

"Of course Kagami's gonna try and make it look like he's happy," Glasses snorted, "But there are tons of blogs talking about how their relationship is weird and forced…Maybe he's even got blackmail on Aomine!"

"Your theories are shit and pure speculation," Mole snapped.

"Heaps of people think this is some kind of lame stunt," Glasses assured him, "Aomine was known to be a bit of a player –_with women_ –and now suddenly he's gay? I'm not buying it. But if that weak little shit had blackmail on him, he could force him into dating him…and thus take advantage of his talent and reputation…"

Aomine had heard enough.

"Oi," he growled mutinously, stalking over with a crack of his neck, "I've had enough of shitty people like you spreading crap." Blonde and Mole grew wide-eyed and backed away, but Glasses apparently had no remorse for his words.

"I'm just saying what the word's thinking," he shrugged defiantly, "No one's buying you and this guy actually wanting to be together. If it's some kind of stunt, it might be working –but people like him who try to gain fame through other people are disgusting –"

"No," Aomine drawled, leering down at the guy with his blue eyes glinting violently. "What's disgusting…are people like you who just like to make up shit about people you don't know." He stepped forwards and caused Glasses to have to step back a pace to avoid being trampled. "You know _nothing_ about Kagami." He moved forwards and snatched the ball from Mole, who was holding it nervously.

"…And don't presume to know me," he remarked icily, dribbling the ball casually. "I'm not some little pet that just obediently does what they're told –" Okay…that was kind of not true –but Satsuki and his mother didn't count. "And…" his voice gained a touch of a smirk, "…Kagami may not be anywhere near as strong as me…but he could destroy you."

_Not that he'd ever say something like that with Kagami actually present_.

"And he's from Seirin," he added with a touch of disdain, "…They pride themselves on their _hard work_…" He resisted the urge to sneer. "…If Kagami wanted a reputation, he'd earn it. So back the fuck off."

"Or what?" Glasses growled, folding his arms. "Seriously? No one takes you seriously anymore. Dating that guy has made you _and basketball _into a joke. If strong players start letting the weak sleep their way to the top, then the system's fucked –" Suddenly, there was a blur of blue lightning as Aomine shot off in a flash and spun past all three of them to leap up and slam the basketball down through the hoop.

As he and the basketball landed, he spun around –his expression not a friendly one. Mole and Blonde recoiled back –genuine fear apparent in their faces.

"No one takes me seriously?" he queried darkly, catching the ball one handed and cocking his head mutinously. "Hah, don't make me laugh. You weaklings are cowering. If you want to keep talking shit about how Kagami's a weak user and us being together is ruining basketball…then prove it." He leered down at Glasses with such intensity that even the guy, who had been so confident and cocky until now, began to back off.

Aomine wasn't sure why he was getting so angry. After all, getting angry was just so tiring that he rarely bothered. But hearing these guys badmouth Kagami had for some reason made him snap. Sure, he called Kagami weak all the time but that was different, since it was coming from him. He couldn't think of a reason for _why_ it was different…but it just was!

He and Kagami didn't agree on a lot of things. Actually, at points, it was safe to say that the only thing they shared was a love of basketball. People thinking that their choice of…_partner_…reflected their ability in the sport they loved –those people were fools. And, from the time he'd been spending with Kagami, he'd sort of grown accustomed to him –just a little. He'd been almost going out of his way to see how far he could push the guy –just to keep things entertaining –and Kagami had been patient…for the most part, at least. Kagami was one of the few people that put up with his crap and but also had no fear of him –something that (though he would never admit it), was kind of refreshing.

So hearing people say such damn _bullshit_ about him seriously pissed him off.

Not only that, but he hated it when people disputed his opinion.

So when someone that he respected as a strong opponent, was called weak by someone other than him…

He lashed out.

And suddenly found his arm caught by Takao, who had appeared at probably the exact moment before things started turning ugly. He glared down at the point guard, who was wearing that cheerful grin on his face still.

"Aomine…" Takao remarked lightly, "…_Friendly_ tournament, remember?"

"Tch, there's nothing friendly about these guys," Aomine growled darkly. Takao looked over and sighed –realising that he'd missed something, but managed to avoid it escalating. Two of the three guys who were their intended opponents looked petrified.

"Uhh…you know what?" Blonde stammered, "I uhh…I think we're gonna forfeit…"

"Yeah…I think that's a…a good idea," Mole admitted with an awkward cough; the pair of them dragging Glasses away to tell one of the organisers that they were not gonna dare take on a pissed off member of the Generation of Miracles –_especially_ its wild ace.

It was as the match was called off, and their team shuffled up to the next round automatically, that Kagami finally made an appearance.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologised, "Kise lost Kuroko and needed help finding him…"

"How do you lose a person?" Takao sighed with a facepalm as Kagami looked around in confusion and saw that they didn't have any opponents, "…Ahh, don't worry –the other team forfeited."

"What?" Kagami complained, "Why?"

"Ask your boyfriend," he shrugged, jerking a thumb over to where Aomine was practically radiating 'pissed off'. "I dunno what happened, but I got here in time to stop him from punching a guy…Our next game shouldn't be too far away then…"

"You nearly _what_?" Kagami exclaimed hotly as Takao wandered over to one of the organisers to find out which court their next game would be on. Aomine just looked away and began stalking off, "Aomine! What the hell?" he stormed after him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Touch me again, and you'll regret it," Aomine threatened –obviously in a very bad mood. But Kagami didn't care much for his mood swings, and so followed him over to a less crowded part of the courts –round the back of the public bathrooms. "Oi! Quit following me!"

"Only when you tell me what happened," Kagami glowered, "You almost _fought a guy_!"

"Tch, well they were saying shit," he snapped.

" –What kind of shit could they possibly be saying to make you punch someone?" he groaned in exasperation. Usually Aomine managed to restrain himself.

"Nothing," he grumbled crossly, "Just drop it, will you?"

"Just tell me, dammit," Kagami snorted, "Is it the gay thing, because usually you –"

"They were saying shit about you, okay?" he snorted, and folded his arms like he was some kind of child. "…And I'm the only one allowed to do that." Kagami's mouth fell open and his mind was suddenly filled with confusion. Had Aomine…actually been _defending_ him?

"Tch, you didn't need to punch him," he scoffed, though on the inside he couldn't help but feel a little…_happy_…well, that Aomine had gone so far as to nearly knock the lights out of someone insulting him. "I can take care of myself, dammit. I don't need you fighting for me."

"I wasn't 'fighting for you'," Aomine snorted, "I just thought that a _good boyfriend_ would maybe get involved –"

"Well remember how you're not a _good_ boyfriend?" Kagami snorted crossly and Aomine glared back at him.

"Oh, like you're any better," he snapped back, his anger still not having had an outlet since Takao had pulled back his punch, "No one believes this, Bakagami. Everyone thinks this _thing_ is some kind of stunt. Which, it fucking is."

"Shut up!" Kagami hissed, knowing that there were people around, with ears –and Aomine was talking too loud.

"Don't tell me to shut up," he drawled without thinking, "It's not like you're my actual boyfriend or anything, so quit telling me what to –" Oh god, this was so not good. Aomine was running his fucking mouth again.

"Ahomine, you're making a scene," he growled out from between gritted teeth.

"This whole thing was a joke," Aomine scoffed, " –Now people just think that we're attention whores, and those fucking rumours are never going to –"

"Quit it; _people are staring_," Kagami hissed, looking over his shoulder in a slight panic as Aomine shoved him roughly and dragged his attention back to him. In an attempt to get him to shut up, he clamped a hand over the bluenette's mouth, but Aomine just shoved him again.

"Do that again, and this whole joke of a relationship is fucking –"

There was nothing else for it, Kagami mused bitterly. He knew the rumours as well as anyone else –probably because the worst ones were about him. There were heaps of people reluctant to believe that he and Aomine were together. People thought he was a status-seeking user trying to gain fame, or take shortcuts or get Aomine to go easy on him to make him seem better…

This had all started as just rumours that he and Aomine were together. But now those rumours had escalated via speculation to not just be about his sexuality, but about his personality and morals. More than ever, he needed to make sure that the world thought he was with Aomine –and that he was with him because he liked him…and not because he liked his reputation.

And for that, he needed that bloody idiot shut his mouth.

Cringing slightly –unable to believe that he was doing this, but with no other option springing to mind –Kagami grabbed Aomine's shirt and lurched forwards to press their lips together.

Aomine was still talking, but within moments, the words died from his lips as he acknowledged that _this_…this was happening. Kagami's mouth was on his and the redhead's eyes were tightly clenched shut –a blush rising to his cheeks. In stunned silence, Aomine moved his lips against Kagami's experimentally, and was a little surprised to feel the redhead's respond.

But only for a moment.

With a huff of an exhale, Kagami pulled back with a sharp glare. Aomine just stared at him in disbelief, licking his lips in surprise as the redhead wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"Can you _not_?" Kagami snorted crossly, "Seriously?"

"Did you just _kiss_ me?" Aomine deadpanned and was satisfied with how Kagami's blush deepened significantly.

"You weren't shutting up," he muttered, and the bluenette's scolding died on his tongue when he heard the tone Kagami was using. "…Look…I don't like this _just as much as you_ –but it's either people thinking that I like you or that I'm the kind of asshole that would date a jackass like you to improve my reputation." He averted his eyes sheepishly and tucked his hands in his pockets.

A wave of guilt washed over Aomine –and he wasn't accustomed to the feeling. Ugh…this was so tiresome…first he was finding himself _defending_ Kagami…now he was feeling guilty about nearly exposing how fake their relationship was? Ridiculous…

Not to mention, he was feeling kind of weird.

Maybe he should apologise? After all…Kagami stood to wind up with more back-lash if it was revealed that they weren't actually together. And he had overreacted…_for some reason_…It was those guys he was pissed at –not Kagami, who was currently looking around warily to see if anyone had been paying attention to what Aomine had been saying.

No. He didn't _do_ apologies. But he did feel kind of bad. And, after all, he'd gone to the trouble of defending the guy –he might as well keep up this act for a bit longer. Although, he'd maybe have to find some way to make up for almost letting the cat out of the bag. Those assholes had been right about one thing –people didn't _really _believe they were together.

"Come on…" he sighed with a yawn, lacing his fingers with Kagami's without warning and tugging him off towards their next game. "…Don't worry, I won't defend you again." Kagami's eyes that had widened in surprise as his hand was grabbed, suddenly narrowed.

"Fine. I don't need you to," he sniffed, drawing up beside him and adjusting his fingers so that they were more comfortably positioned between Aomine's. The pair of them didn't even bother glancing at each other.

" –We've been looking _everywhere_ for you!" Momoi exclaimed in exasperation as they drew up to her, Kagami still trying to come to terms with the weird kind of butterflies he was getting with the knowledge that Aomine maybe respected him enough to defend him. "…Aomine-kun…why are you blushing? Did something happen?"

"No," Aomine immediately remarked, and Kagami felt his cheeks heat up as he snuck a look at the bluenette to find that indeed, Aomine Daiki's cheeks were actually a little pink. He snickered with a small grin that didn't fade when the other ace glared over at him. Neither of them particularly wanted to mention that little kiss they'd shared…though Kagami was suddenly struck with the realisation that it was the first time he'd kissed Aomine since the incident at the Christmas party. For some reason that made him all the more embarrassed by it.

* * *

It didn't really come as a surprise to anyone that the team that won the three-a-side street-ball tournament consisted of Aomine Daiki, Takao Kazunari and Kagami Taiga. For one thing, Aomine had stated numerous times throughout the day that 'the only one who can beat me is me' –a phrase that Kagami was growing increasingly sick of.

And, being the winners…they were getting interviewed.

Takao was doing most of the talking –because Aomine wasn't interested, and he was a little more eloquent with his words than Kagami. Amongst other things, he'd been asked how it had been playing in a team so different from Shutoku. He'd replied very diplomatically that it was an experience that had tested his abilities as a point guard.

…Which was a polite way of saying 'how the fuck do you play in a team when your teammates are playing against each other?'

"Now, Aomine-kun," the interviewer remarked conversationally, "I'm actually very glad to get the chance to talk to you today."

"Hah?" Aomine raised an eyebrow, mid-yawn. "Me?" he added, though he had been expecting this. Well, actually, Takao had been expecting this, and had informed Aomine and Kagami that there was the possibility that the blood-sucking reporters would take advantage of the opportunity to expose their relationship.

"As I'm sure you're aware," he began with a small cough, "Recently, there has been a great deal of speculation across social media about the nature of your relationship with Kagami-kun here." He nodded across at Kagami, whose eyes widened as he peered over at Aomine slightly nervously.

"What about it?" Aomine inquired suspiciously, though he knew exactly where this was going. He ignored Kagami's nervous look and did his best to prevent himself from smirking. This was not only going to be hilarious, but Kagami was gonna have to be fucking thankful.

Not that this was for Kagami.

He was trapped in this situation too.

"Well," the reporter remarked cheerfully, "At the moment…with no real confirmation from either of you…there is a great deal of speculation about whether or not…"

"We're together," Aomine interrupted flatly, practically staring down the cameras as he appeared to have made his mind up about something. "…So all of you who are spreading rumours about my Kagami –this is for you. Kagami…" That was all the warning that Kagami –who was still battling with annoyance and a weird sensation at being referred to as _Aomine's_ –received before he was unceremoniously shoved up against the news van beside him and a pair of warm lips planted firmly against his.

There was an audible gasp from everyone watching (apart from Takao, who had apparently been the only one who saw this coming). Kagami's eyes widened and his lips parted in shock as a tongue forced past them and into the caverns of his mouth. For a moment there, he was horrified to find himself submitting and just letting Aomine ravage his mouth –on live television. His only reaction was that his hands sought to grip something behind him –only to find no hand-hold to keep him in reality.

But then he remembered that he didn't let that bastard walk all over him –and it was _that_, rather than the fact that this was bound to prove that they were together –that made him kiss back.

Tanned hands curled around him, but, not to be outdone, he looped his arms up around Aomine's neck and gripped his short hair fiercely as his tongue slicked up against the bluenette's and their kiss grew deeper and more passionate.

Their bodies were pressed together, lips tearing at each other, almost for no reason other than they refused to let the other dominate them. Kagami drew a shaky breath and felt a soft moan resonate from deep in his throat as his red eyes began to glaze –the strangely familiar warmth of Aomine's body causing his temperature to rise. A keening, "Mmm…" escaped Aomine's lips as he too felt heat beginning to brew between them.

Aomine's hands were fierce upon him; coursing up his back and then down again; gripping almost painfully at his hair then sliding around to cup his cheek. Kagami felt his own hands, moving seemingly off no will of his own, tugging the other ace closer to him and feeling one of Aomine's thighs press up between his legs intimately. Embarrassment made him try to close his thighs together, but that only forced the bluenette closer to him and he let out a low gasp at the sensation –just _feeling_ Aomine smirking.

Through lidded lashes, their gazes met; filled with challenge and heat –bodies connecting and mouths barely parting, even for air. Like the first time they had kissed, under that bloody mistletoe at the Christmas party, this was raw and primal.

"Ahem…" Takao coughed suddenly, as one of Aomine's hands almost snaked up the back of Kagami's shirt (out of sight of the camera, but well in-sight of the hawk-eyed point guard –he'd managed to catch sight because Kagami had arched up into a Aomine in a certain way that he knew from experience indicated hand upon skin contact). "I think uhh…I think they get it…" It was a little apparent that he was trying not to laugh.

Aomine pulled back, finding himself unusually breathless, but then, unable to resist as a thoroughly embarrassed Kagami let out a shaking breath; leaned back in and pressed a few steaming, short kisses against his speechless mouth; gripping his face in both hands. On the last, he even let his tongue languidly roll against Kagami's as their lips met –a gesture very vividly caught on camera; and one that caused a soft _whimper_ to escape the redhead's throat.

Limply, Kagami's hands slid down Aomine's back to dangle uselessly at his sides as he blinked like a deer frozen in headlights –his cheeks practically the same colour as his hair. Everyone in the immediate vicinity was struck dumb as Aomine cricked his neck and pulled away from the motionless redhead.

"And, by the way…" he added, almost casually, though his voice was suddenly a lot huskier than it had initially been, "Our relationship is none of your business…and if you don't like it; keep it to your damn selves." And that was his final word on the matter. His bluntness had apparently awakened the reporter, who still seemed stunned by such a display.

"Um…well…Kagami-kun?" he inquired, "Do you have anything else to say?" Kagami just blinked at him in shock and struggled to fight down his blush.

"I…uhh…" he coughed awkwardly, scratching his chin self-consciously before he suddenly realised that this was his moment to set the record straight. His expression changed to one of confidence –putting his sudden kiss(es) with Aomine to the back of his mind.

"I take basketball seriously," he stated flatly, "…I don't take shortcuts. I don't need to, because I know I'm not weak. So…" With a sudden grin that rather hid his growing mortification quite well, he slung an arm around Aomine's shoulders (earning an annoyed glance from the bluenette) and smirked down the camera, "…If any of you think that you don't have to take either of us seriously…" Aomine caught on to his train of thought and mimicked his challenging look. "…Think again."

And that was the last of it.

Kagami walked away from that televised interview with his head held high, but with every step, his expression grew more and more distressed.

"What's the big idea, _Ahomine_?" he exclaimed aggressively as soon as they were out of earshot of the reporter and the still rather shell-shocked camera crew.

"Hah?" Aomine remarked disinterestedly, "What's what?"

"_That_!" Kagami snapped crossly, "_Over there_! You just _made out_ with me _on TV_!"

"So?" he snorted back, hearing an overjoyed squeal from somewhere in the distance and just knowing that Momoi was going to appear and bombard him with questions at any second. "It's not like it meant anything. And you started it." Kagami flushed with an inward groan at the fact that _okay_ he had maybe made it so kissing was on the table.

"Yeah, well…that's not the point!" he sniffed hotly, "…A bit of _warning_ might've been nice!"

"Tch…" Aomine scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Everyone's going to think we're together. You should be thrilled."

"How can I be thrilled after _that_ just happened?" Kagami complained, "Oh my god…." He rested his face in his hands as he struggled to come to terms with what exactly had just gone down. One moment, he'd just been standing there in the background while Takao talked. That was fine. Then the next thing he knew, Aomine grabbed him and pushed him up against the nearest car and started kissing him.

And then he'd kissed back.

And god had he kissed back. Aomine's touch and taste lingered on him, and his heart was beating a little too fast –probably from nerves or embarrassment or something. He had definitely had to kiss back. But he _definitely_ hadn't had to kiss back _like that_. Jeez…this had happened the first time as well…what was it about Aomine that made him throw sense to the wind and just…turn into some kind of _animal_?

Kagami sighed in resignation and slipped his hand into Aomine's, feeling the increasingly-familiar grip of his strong fingers clutch him in what he interpreted as a –god help him –_reassuring_ kind of way. He'd really never expected that Aomine would do something as drastic as that…but then again, the guy could be damn unpredictable –and even worse, he appeared to be just as bored and disinterested in life as ever. How was it fucking possible to not be in the least bit ruffled about sucking face with another guy in front of so many people?

Little did Kagami know that behind Aomine's dull demeanour, there was one thought that drowned out all the others.

_Holy shit. _

* * *

Takao shifted slightly, later that night, letting out a ragged breath as he curled up against Midorima's pale side, wrapping his arm across his chest.

"What's bothering you, Shin-chan?" he inquired quietly, noting that the shooting guard was staring up at the roof with unfocused green eyes.

"What makes you think I'm bothered?" he remarked haughtily and Takao chuckled to himself, pressing his naked body closer to his boyfriend's, wincing as a twinge of dull pain throbbed up his back.

"Well…uhh…" he admitted, "It's just…you were a lot rougher on me tonight…" He looked up and saw green eyes peering down at him apologetically.

"…Sorry…" he muttered.

"No…no…I actually rather enjoyed it…" Takao chuckled to himself, running a hand down his chest and nuzzling up against him. "…And…" he self-consciously traced a dark purple hickey that was currently forming on his neck. "…This is the first time you've left marks."

Takao was a little surprised that as he mentioned that, Midorima rolled and hovered over him, looking down at him rather predatorily. It was an unusual look in his eyes, but it was strangely arousing. He felt his boyfriend descend to his neck and softly kiss at one of the hickeys, before brushing it with his nose. He shifted his weight so that he was lying between Takao's legs once more.

"…Are you ashamed of me, Takao?" he inquired quietly, as Takao kissed his cheek intimately. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Why did those people think that you didn't have a boyfriend?" Midorima asked in a low tone. Takao frowned, genuinely not sure what he was talking about –but then he remembered the encounter with those homophobes earlier in the day –and how, when they had told him to run off to his boyfriend, he had bitten his tongue.

"…Shin-chan…" he chuckled, wrapping his arms around Midorima's neck and dragging him back down to rest on him, "…I didn't want to have to get you involved…" He felt lips nibbling at the flesh of his neck once more and hips rose –seeking contact.

"You know I do not care for sharing," Midorima growled huskily, nipping at Takao's throat and causing his breath to hitch, "I like others to know what is mine." This caused a smile to spread across the point guard's face as he understood.

"…So possessive…Shin-chan…" he murmured, feeling a large hand sliding down between his legs. His back was already throbbing, but he couldn't help but quiver with excitement. It wasn't often his Shin-chan got in this kind of mood. He felt guilty for denying him –he hadn't known he'd heard that exchange, though he'd speculated that Midorima actually loved it when Takao made sure to let the world know they were together. This was the first time that he hadn't openly announced 'Shin-chan's my boyfriend but he says he isn't' or some variation, but the marks on his neck and his most likely prominent limp in the morning would rather clearly show that he did indeed have a boyfriend. One that would much rather deny than be denied.

"Again?" Midorima inquired in a sultry whisper, flinging the blankets back off of them and pressing his naked body up against his boyfriend's.

As Takao wrapped his arms around Midorima's pale shoulders and kissed him deeply, he decided that he kinda liked seeing this possessive side of him.

"Shin-chan, you sure spoil me sometimes."

* * *

Meanwhile…Kagami was lying in bed staring at his roof, gripping his blanket tightly.

He couldn't sleep. His mind was too occupied.

Even now, his mind was swimming with the memory of what had happened with Aomine during the day. Every time he closed his eyes, he could feel hands kneading up his back, fingers digging in harshly and gripping him close –and worse, warm, soft hands ghosting at the skin in the small of his back.

Lying on his back, he could recall the feel of the bluenette's toned chest pressed up against him –the feeling of his knee pressed tight against his crotch; subtly moving up against him.

His breath started to quicken at the memory, and he clenched his eyes shut –praying for sleep to hurry. All that happened in the darkness, was that as his lips parted to breathe, he was reminded of the feel of Aomine's tongue roving through his mouth; the warmth and force of his lips…the soft grunts of pleasure that escaped his throat…

Kagami let out an exasperated groan, slumping across to one side.

Why had he kissed Aomine –even to shut him up? Of course he should've realised that that meant that their hand-holding could maybe step up to lip-locking –though he had_ never_ considered that it could escalate so violently…that was the whole reason they were in this mess to start with!

Ugh.

Their friends had been watching the live broadcast, and it had taken a while for Riko and Momoi to stop giggling. The rest of them had been relatively dumbstruck…and just _stared_…which he supposed was a reasonable reaction.

Takao had said it was even better live.

Midorima had thankfully told him to shut up.

And even though the rest of the day had progressed relatively smoothly –well, mostly because Kagami had escaped to wallow in shame after all the teams had gone for celebratory popsicles in honour of them winning the tournament. It had been great to all hang out –Kasamatsu was a laugh and Imayoshi somehow managed to trick Wakamatsu into trying to fit three popsicles into his mouth –which he all but managed…but the whole time, Kagami had been plagued by thoughts of what happened.

In any case, a repeat of the kiss he'd given Aomine to shut him up would've sufficed, right? Actually, well, he knew that that wasn't true…but why on earth did he wind up kissing him _like that_ on TV?

Why did he wind up kissing him like that _fullstop_ –with the tongue and the wandering hands and the moans…god he fucking moaned too much, but he couldn't help it! What kind of guys wound up doing that?

It was so fucking embarrassing.

Even more embarrassing…was the fact that as he struggled to doze off, with memories and foggy thoughts from Christmas dancing through his head…he discovered that maybe he wouldn't mind all that much if Aomine kissed him like that again.

* * *

**So, like I said...long chapter...with kind of a bit of everything. Sorry to break up the nice parts with those mean, narrow-minded people...  
Also, I just had to put the last bit with Takao and Midorima because well...just because I love them and want them to be happy! **

**As for Kagami and Aomine...is this a turning point, perhaps? **

**We'll just have to see! Thanks for keeping up!  
xx K**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know I just updated yesterday….but uhh…your reviews just made me so happy and I just can't wait for the next few chapters so I had to keep going! (Is it weird to sometimes fangirl over your own story?)**

**Now this one is shorter, and perhaps filler-esque but I hope that you still enjoy it! **

* * *

The courts were filled with muttering as Aomine bounced his basketball experimentally at the free throw line as he eyed up the hoop. He knew that many of the people watching were talking about him –talking about he and Kagami or what had happened on TV just two weeks ago. He caught snatches of conversation –people saying cruel, misguided things; saying that he was gross, or that since they played such a close-quarters game, there should be regulations in place, or saying that he was an embarrassment to basketball. Some were saying that what he and Kagami had done on camera was unprofessional or disturbing or a complete disgrace.

These people, he ignored. They could think what they fucking liked.

Because there were other people out there, he knew, that were telling those bastards to shut their mouths –saying that the statement he and Kagami had made was admirable; that this was a step forwards for basketball and sporting in general. The world needed more tolerance, these people said –and who cared about his sexual orientation if he played a damn good game?

The most important thing about basketball was the basketball, after all.

Unfortunately, the guy who had fouled Aomine was of the former group, and the ace could hear the guy muttering things about how he should just be kicked off the court. Though, in general, games had gotten better, these past two weeks. Since he had practically told the world to back off (he was pretty sure that clip had been seen region-wide at the least), things had changed –if only a little. People had at least been trying to separate personal feelings and the game, and Kagami was definitely getting a lot less abuse on the internet.

With a wicked smirk at the guy who charged him, Aomine straightened up slightly, and turned his head to look up at the bleachers nearby to where he had been aware for the whole game so far, that Kagami was sitting.

His expression suddenly mischievous, he just looked up at the redhead, who he knew would probably be looking slightly worried at seeing Aomine's hesitation at taking the shot.

Dramatically, he stretched out his arm and pointed directly at him with a highly amused, smug look on his face. It was to his great amusement that practically that entire section of spectators turned in confusion to stare at Kagami, who visibly shrank down in his seat and Aomine, having dedicated this shot to his 'boyfriend', spun back to face the hoop and deftly made the shot; sinking the ball with a soft swish of the net.

The Touou supporters broke out into fierce applause, hooting and cheering and for the most part, seeming delighted that he'd brought attention to Kagami. As the game restarted, he snuck a look back up at the redhead, who was being enthusiastically clapped on the shoulder by strangers, whilst trying very hard to sink into the ground and never be seen again.

"Aomine, concentrate," Imayoshi sighed as he ran past. Aomine just scowled at him for scolding him, but that smirk reappeared as he jogged past the guy who had fouled him.

"You're disgusting," the guy managed to spit out before his team's burly centre roughly elbowed him aside and gave Aomine an apologetic look.

"Sorry about him, man," he commented, glaring at his teammate, " –He's just being a dick. I swear, the rest of us are cool with you. You're a wicked player and that's what matters, right?"

"Right," Aomine drawled flatly, but the centre grinned with a brief thumbs up. He didn't show it, but he was grateful for a comment like that. In a sea of very mixed opinions, it was kinda nice to have a stranger just showing even a touch of support –even if he and Kagami weren't _really_ together.

But that sure as hell didn't mean he was going to go easy on them. He had points to prove.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ those rebounds you were getting, Wakamatsu!" Kagami exclaimed as the Seirin and Touou teams jammed themselves at a long table at the closest burger joint after the game –celebrating Touou's win. Their opponents had put up a really good fight and it had been a rather exciting match. Even Aomine had said (though not enthusiastically) that it hadn't been as boring as games usually were.

"I know right!" Wakamatsu crowed loudly, causing Kiyoshi and Imayoshi to cringe backwards and jam their hands over their ears, "That centre was a damn pain some of the time!"

"I saw –" Kagami agreed, "He was _huge_ –"

"Well Wakamatsu only got half as many points as I did," Aomine snorted condescendingly from Kagami's other side, only to wind up being drowned out by Wakamatsu howling with laughter at Izuki piping up, "Well, he was certainly the _centre_ of your attention…"

" –And holy shit, Sakurai," Kagami added, a little impressed, "Those three pointers were insane; are you getting faster –"

"Y-yeah," Sakurai stammered in embarrassment as he nibbled on his chips.

"Come on, pay up," Imayoshi snickered, holding out his hand to Hyuga with a triumphant smirk, "Told you I'd get twenty-five points _easy_."

"You're a cheat," Hyuga sniffed crossly, "Making bets you know you're going to win…" Imayoshi pocketed the cash that Seirin's captain had grudgingly handed over.

"…Wanna see me get Wakamatsu to fit a whole burger in his mouth?" he added sneakily.

"No way he can do that," Hyuga scoffed. Imayoshi's eyes flashed smugly.

" –Who cares about Sakurai's three-pointers?" Aomine droned loudly, "My fucking buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter…" He was suddenly cut off as there was a triumphant yell from further down the table. His brow creased in annoyance as his blue eyes glared down to see that Wakamatsu's arms were held in the air in triumph; his cheeks bulging –and Imayoshi in the background calmly holding his hand out to Hyuga to accept his winnings.

"Some of those plays today were incredible," Kiyoshi added as Hyuga descended into mutinous grumbles about Imayoshi and his unfair bets, "We should go for some one-on-one sometime?"

"Sure," he replied, "…As long as we can make things interesting…"

"Don't do it," Hyuga warned darkly, "He'll rob you blind."

"I'll take my chances," Kiyoshi laughed cheerily.

"Oi, Kagami, bet you never could've gotten as many points as I did today," Aomine drawled, his voice increasing in volume. Kagami was, however, immersed in a Wakamatsu trying his utmost to now swallow the food he'd managed to stuff in his mouth. "Did you see the faces on those guys when –" His expression darkened as it was apparent that he wasn't listening and he mutinously picked at his food.

Kuroko and Momoi, sitting across the table, just exchanged looks; Momoi giggling sweetly as Aomine dramatically swiped about three burgers from Kagami's tray –an action that almost always elicited some reaction from the redhead. Apparently he didn't see it this time, and Momoi watched in amusement as Aomine sulkily unwrapped one of the burgers and started chomping away at it sullenly.

"Ow! Kuroko! What the fuck was that for?" Kagami complained as he was suddenly harshly kicked under the table. Kuroko just took a sip of his vanilla shake and pointedly nodded to where Aomine was rather blatantly in a sulk at being ignored. Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"What's _your_ problem?" he inquired teasingly. Aomine just stuck his nose in the air and looked away childishly.

"Nothing. I'm bored," he sniffed disdainfully.

"Oi –are those mine?" Kagami growled darkly, suddenly seeming to realise that Aomine had been stealing food from him _again_. Kuroko saw the triumphant look in Aomine's eyes and sighed heavily with an exasperated look over at Momoi.

"You weren't paying attention," Aomine snorted mockingly, but the pair opposite heard the 'to me' that had been omitted. Kagami swiped them back. "You've got food on your face, idiot."

"You've got food on your shirt," Kagami shot back crossly.

"Tch, it's your shirt anyway," he smirked. That, of course, sparked further argument between the pair of them –mostly about Aomine's lack of respect for things that belonged to Kagami and Aomine's general attitude. Kuroko didn't know how they kept finding new things to argue about.

"Tch," Aomine scoffed about ten minutes of constant arguing later, slinging an arm around Kagami's shoulders and stealing a handful of Sakurai's chips, "You're just jealous of me, that's what."

"Did I miss something?" Kuroko frowned, apparently not having kept up with the topics of conversation to know how they had once again reached this point.

"Like I'd be jealous of an asshole like you," Kagami snorted back hotly, "And stop being such a dick to Sakurai –Sakurai, stop letting him walk all over you…"

"Uhh yes…" Sakurai stuttered, "I'm sorry I let him walk over me. I'm sorry I'm not strong enough…I'm sorry –"

"Look, you set him off, _Bakagami_," Aomine drawled, tugging on Kagami's hair obnoxiously with the hand currently around his shoulder. "We won't get him to stop now –"

"Sakurai…you don't need to apologise…" Imayoshi sighed heavily –which of course only caused Sakurai to start apologising for being so sorry. Eventually he just became so distressed that Hyuga jammed a shake in his hand and told him to shut up and drink it.

"_Oi_," Kagami glared as Aomine took advantage of Sakurai being silenced to steal some more of his chips.

" –Tch, if you wanted some, just say," he smirked, jamming a handful into Kagami's open mouth. The redhead gagged for a moment before grudgingly chewing them and swallowing. Momoi sighed happily at the sight of such playfulness in Aomine's eyes –it was so much like how he'd been when they were younger, and it was a delight to see. Also, she wondered if either of them had noticed that they were automatically leaning on each other.

Imayoshi and Izuki, much to Hyuga's chagrin, were conversing amiably now about school and tests that were coming up. Even Imayoshi sounded a little stressed about them.

"It's hard cramming in practice with study," he admitted with a shrug, "But we all manage. Even Aomine –I don't know how the hell he's still passing everything."

"I think Momoi's got something to do with it," Wakamatsu admitted with a low chuckle, "She's probably the only reason –" He sighed, "But yeah, _jeez _I could do with a break –"

"Say…" Riko suddenly spoke up thoughtfully from further down the table, "Actually…that sounds like a great idea." Her team immediately looked at her warily.

"…What do you mean?" Hyuga inquired suspiciously and she beamed back, insulted that they were so sceptical.

"A break," she explained, "Why don't we take a weekend away at the beach or something –just take a break?"

"…Is this some kind of trick?" Koganei whispered to Izuki behind his hands.

"I don't know…it seems kind of underhanded…" he muttered back with a small frown. Riko planted her hands on her hips crossly.

"I've got exams to study for too, you know," she sniffed, "And a break sounds like exactly what we need –something to de-stress us and get us fired up for exams and practice!" The Touou team didn't seem to understand why the Seirin team was locked in a disbelieving deadpan.

"Is this some kind of metaphor for a training regime?" Hyuga inquired, "…Because that's mean to get our hopes up…"

"I agree with Riko-san!" Momoi called out, and the other young woman looked at her gratefully. "A vacation –a reward for everyone's hard work. How does the beach sound?"

"The beach?" Koganei dared to breathe, "…And without the tripled drills?" A low gasp went up from the Seirin team –causing them to again receive strange looks from Touou. Riko glared at them.

"Well…with everything that's been going on…" she looked pointedly at Kagami and Aomine, who weren't listening, and were instead locked in an argument that had caused Kagami to be elbowing the bluenette in annoyance and Aomine smirking rather smugly and pretending to not care what on earth he was saying.

"…It'd be nice to get away from it all," she admitted, "I don't see why we can't have a short weekend at the beach." A murmur of excitement went up through both teams at the prospect.

"What's happening?" Kagami inquired suddenly, apparently only just realising that there was a group discussion going on.

" –We're going on a vacation," Kiyoshi informed him brightly and his mouth fell open. "To the beach!"

"…_Without the tripled drills_?" he exclaimed, and Riko harrumphed crossly. He just stared. "Why?"

"…Because some of us study, _Bakagami_," Hyuga snorted and Kagami cringed sheepishly, "…And Coach has said that we could use a break."

"Awesome!" Kagami whooped with a grin.

"Momoi-san; would you be able to sort out cheap accommodation for us all?" Kuroko inquired curiously, and everyone stared at him incredulously. "…I assumed that we were all going together?"

"Tetsu-kun, that's such a great idea!" Momoi called out in delight and latched onto his arm tightly. "Of course I'll figure something out! Everyone wants to go, right?" She glanced around the table and saw nods –except for Aomine, who just yawned and shrugged; though she could tell that he was up for it. Suddenly struck by a thought, she paused, "…You know, I wonder if Midorin and Takao-kun would like to come?"

"Why don't we invite everyone?" Kiyoshi suggested with a shrug and then looked over at Kagami, "You could invite Himuro –I'm sure he'd be happy to see you? Since he and Murasakibara couldn't come to the street-ball tournament, it'd be nice for them to come with us, right?"

"That'd be cool," Kagami agreed, but didn't see the flicker of annoyance cross Aomine's face. Momoi saw it though, and chuckled, knowing that he was aware of Kagami and Himuro's history in America. The redhead pulled out his phone and quickly called up Midorima.

"Hello, this is Shin-chan's phone," Takao's voice called out when someone picked up. There was a cross, "_Takao_, no one calls me that," from the background, and a muffled response of, "But it's your name, Shin-chan –" from the point guard.

"Yo," Kagami chuckled, batting Aomine's hand away from his face, "Hey, us and Touou are thinking of going to the beach for a weekend sometime soon –do you guys wanna come?" He thought he might as well extend the invitation to the others from Shutoku.

"Vacation with Seirin and Touou?" Takao confirmed.

" –Probably Kaijo and Yosen too," Kagami added, getting a nod of agreement from the others around the table.

"Rakuzan?"

"…You know they're too cool to hang out with us," he snorted.

"True. I'm in. I'll check with the other guys," Takao replied brightly, and Kagami could hear his thinly-veiled excitement, "Hey, Shin-chan! Wanna go stay at the beach with your old middle school buddies and their teams?"

"…Fine…"

"Kagami, he says –oh wait…he…he actually wants to go," Takao remarked, sounding a little surprised, but then starting to chuckle. "Aw, Shin-chan! You wanna hang out with our friends! Your cute side is showing!"

"…And you wonder why I never agree to do anything…" Midorima grumbled in the background, "…Give my phone back –"

"I'll let you know when I've talked to the others," Takao chirped, "This sounds like fun! Shin-chan's looking so excited right now!"

"_Takao_!" The phone suddenly went dead as the call was cut off. Kagami just chuckled to himself and laid his phone on the table.

"…Safe bet that Shutoku's in," he admitted with a grin.

"This is going to be so much fun," Riko sighed happily as they all came to the consensus that they'd finished their meals –and with an already excited vibe running through the group, they headed out of the joint.

Kagami and Aomine were the last out the door –suddenly finding that their teams were heading in opposite directions to head for home. Aomine's arm was still slung comfortably around Kagami's shoulder and they were debating about what time they were going to meet up for some one-on-one the next day.

"No, I told you –I have to go get some new clothes tomorrow morning," Kagami complained, "Because _someone_ keeps stealing all my shit. How's three?"

"Ugh that's too late," Aomine droned, "I'll be bored the whole day. Eleven."

"Do you ever fucking listen to me?" he snapped, "I've got to go shopping."

"Fine," he sniffed, "I'll come with."

"What?"

"You heard me. I gotta get some things too," Aomine snorted, "This way, you can carry my shit. Then we'll go play." Kagami let out a sigh and rolled his eyes in exasperation. Did this asshole always have to have his way?

"Fine," he grudgingly agreed crossly –actually going clothes shopping with Aomine was going to be a new experience. Knowing him, he'd just complain about every item that Kagami picked out, then complain that he was bored, then complain that he was hungry. This was going to be hard work. "Eleven."

"Great," Aomine smirked triumphantly, dropping his arm and then, practically without thinking, leaned forwards and pressed his lips up against Kagami's as a goodbye.

He wasn't sure which of them was more startled by the gesture.

But, startled or not, Kagami managed to keep his composure enough to move his lips up against Aomine's once, twice, with their tongues softly flicking out ever so slightly to just touch, before they pulled back –both wide eyed and astonished.

Aomine, like usual, recovered first, and casually dug his hands into his pockets with a disinterested, "Later."

"Uhh…um, _bye_?" Kagami blinked in confusion, turning slowly and wandering over to join his waiting team. Riko's hands were over her mouth to cover her squeals.

"Oh Kagami! Did he just kiss you goodbye?" she hissed.

"…I…I…pass?" he guessed, swallowing and not altogether sure what had just happened. Sure, he and Aomine had had that make-out on TV…but apart from that, they'd avoided the whole lip-locking thing; maybe in a subconscious attempt to ensure that nothing like the Christmas party incident happened again…

And then out of the blue…Aomine just goes ahead and does something like that?

His heart was thudding a little too loudly, and his mouth suddenly a little dry.

He'd known that technically, kissing was on the table –but whenever they parted ways after a 'date' or after some one-on-one, there was that awkward little pause where he knew they were both thinking 'if we were dating, this would be when we would kiss goodbye'. And that awkward little pause was just too weird that neither of them acted on it and they departed with a simple 'bye'.

He hadn't been ready for that. Not ready for it at all. And just like his other kisses with Aomine –no matter how brief, this one had left his head feeling a little light. It wasn't like any of the others –not drunken and desperate like their one at Christmas; not urgent or used to shut someone up like the second, and not…passionate like the one they'd had on television.

This one was just…simple.

And it was the simplicity of it that had him reeling. There was no purpose for this one. No actual _need_. Aomine…he had just kissed him…just because. The part that was most concerning for Kagami –the thing that was kind of making his chest a little tight…was that he was kind of okay with it.

"Are you okay, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko inquired, and Kagami looked down to find the shadow looking at him rather strangely. "You seem a little shell-shocked."

"I…I wasn't…" he mumbled, not sure how to convey his sudden insecurity and foreign sensation building in his stomach.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Kuroko admitted, "Even if you and Aomine-kun are…" He chuckled a little at Kagami's confused expression but didn't elaborate. Aomine probably wouldn't thank him for telling Kagami that he'd been trying to get his attention all evening.

Aomine, meanwhile, was probably even more shell-shocked than Kagami. He barely heard what his teammates were saying as he approached, though he assumed that Imayoshi was saying something witty and Wakamatsu was chuckling teasingly.

What had just happened?

They'd just been talking –just doing what they usually did…and then he'd just kissed him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was bad enough with the whole TV thing. He'd gone too far –_they'd_ gone too far. He didn't know what it was, but kissing Kagami brought out something in him that he'd never known he'd had. He'd just intended to kiss him a _bit_ –a touch of tongue, just for good measure –but then before he knew what was happening, his body was on fire and his hands were a couple of Kagami's moans away from tearing the redhead's shirt off.

So when he'd walked away, he'd managed to maintain his composure, but in his mind he had been trying to convince himself that that was just an act –just a performance put on for a camera.

…But that didn't explain what had just happened. There were no cameras here.

It had almost been like a reflex.

Aomine was stunned that his body had moved even before his mind had registered what was happening. It was bad enough that he'd been dealing with an ill-tasting feeling of annoyance during dinner when Kagami ignored his jibes time and time again. Sure, he should be glad (or something) that their teams weren't out to kill each other –but for some reason, it irked him something awful that Kagami was paying more attention to his teammates than him.

Maybe that was why he'd kissed him? Payback?

What a lame excuse.

In any case, it was uncalled for. They didn't need that sentimental crap. He'd kissed Kagami –he had to deal with that, as much as he didn't want to. But, like with their previous kisses, they weren't going to talk about it –and he was completely fine with that. He was thoroughly embarrassed at being capable of something so…_cute_…not to mention…

Kagami had kissed him back.

It hadn't been necessary for him to, considering the situation and the shock value…but he had. And he realised that he was…maybe _relieved_…that he had.

And that realisation put him in a thoroughly bad mood.

"Aomine-kun…is there a reason you're smiling?"

* * *

**So yes, perhaps filler-esque, so for that, apologies -but I required a set-up for the following chapter. . . . because who doesn't love a good trip to the beach? I also kinda like the group bonding... **

**Kagami and Aomine are feeling strange. Aomine's acting weird. Find out more next update! **

**And also, thank you all ****_sooo _****much for the reviews that you left for the last chapter, they made me absolutely SO happy! **  
**You are all wonderful. I love you.  
xx K**


	9. Chapter 9

**My poor, patient readers; a filler chapter eight and now a set-up chapter! But...there are small treats in store in the next ones, I promise! Chapter nine, for your pleasure!**

* * *

Kuroko raised an eyebrow as he watched Kagami tuck his cell phone into his bag for about the thousandth time this car ride. He didn't know why he bothered putting it away –the thing would only wind up vibrating with a response a few minutes later and Kagami would be all but scrambling to fish it from his bag to check the reply.

Within moments, he was proved correct –hearing the buzzing of Kagami's phone and seeing the redhead let out yet another annoyed sigh before he plunged his hand back into his bag.

Like every other time this had happened, Kagami was wearing an irritated expression and his reply was texted out almost aggressively. Then, with a harrumph and a scoff, he was hitting 'send' and shoving the phone back into his bag. He might've been looking awfully cross, but Kuroko noted the way that he glanced at his bag every few moments, as though waiting for a response.

"Kagami-kun…is there something bothering you?" he inquired flatly, finally tiring of this exhausting little game that he appeared to be playing with Aomine. The phone buzzed and Kagami dug it out, shaking it at Kuroko in annoyance.

"This bastard is _pissing me off_," he declared hotly.

"Oh?" Kuroko deadpanned, "How so?"

"Well, so we went shopping like a week or two ago," Kagami began to explain, and suddenly launched into a play-by-play of how he'd needed to get shirts, and so he'd asked Aomine to help him. And then Aomine had actually started picking out clothes for him to try on –then after about an hour, he'd noticed that the bastard was picking clothes that _he'd_ suit as well, like he was planning ahead for stealing them!

Not to mention, he wouldn't carry a goddamn thing, and ate his burgers and then wouldn't stop complaining about how boring shopping was until Kagami relented and went and played basketball.

" –And so he asked me if I wore one of my new shirts," Kagami sniffed darkly, "So I said the dark blue one –and you know what he sends back?"

"What did he say back?" Kuroko remarked with a roll of his eyes.

"_It looks better on me_," he scoffed, "Can you fucking believe that guy?"

"Unbelievable," Kuroko replied dryly, though he didn't think that Kagami quite picked up on the sarcasm. He just let out a huffy snort, snapping his phone shut melodramatically and folding his arms.

_Looks like he's not going to text back…_

"Kagami-kun, have you been listening?" Riko inquired from the front of the van, and Kagami immediately froze and blinked up at her innocently. She didn't buy it for a moment and just sighed heavily.

"I was _saying_," she repeated, "…There's a new hotel opening up near where we're staying, so the place is going to be flooded with journalists and everything." Kagami nodded, but didn't seem to get her meaning.

"Coach is saying that you and Aomine-kun's relationship has only recently been accepted as real," Kuroko explained, and was a little amused to see that Kagami fiddled with his phone agitatedly at the mention of Aomine. " –So this would be a perfect opportunity to show how happy the pair of you are together. Because…you know, aren't you meant to break up soon?"

"Yeah we are," Kagami snorted flatly, feeling his phone vibrate again and flipping it open crossly. Kuroko just exchanged a deadpan with Riko, who sighed heavily and turned to engage in casual conversation with Kiyoshi, who was driving (much to Hyuga's annoyance.)

_Satsuki said we should act real happy and 'lovey-dovey'_, the text from Aomine read. Kagami could practically hear the scoff of disdain in his voice.

_We're not lovey-dovey_, he texted back, and then, as an afterthought, added, _I'm not being like that with YOU, Ahomine!_

_She says if we pull it off this weekend, we can break up soon_.

That reply made him pause in his response, thumb hovering over the keypad with a small frown on his face. Yeah; that's what this was all about to start with –convincing the world they were together, so they could break up and forget anything ever happened.

With an annoyed growl, he replied with, _What do we have to do…_

_Beats me_, was Aomine's brilliant response. Kagami sighed. Well, that wasn't a good place to start. He frowned to himself, leaning heavily against the window. He understood what the Coach was saying –a beach vacation would be the perfect way to show everyone that he and Aomine were _working_ –that they were happy and not caring what everyone thought of him…

…But he didn't know how they were going to act like a pair of loved-up boyfriends. He and Aomine didn't _do_ 'loved-up'. Hell, sometimes they struggled with 'tolerating'. Their relationship was shown to be, well…_explosive_, in a sense. Loved-up was the complete other end of that spectrum.

His phone vibrated once again and he opened the new message and nodded approvingly at the suggestion. Maybe Aomine wasn't such a moron after all? Well, at least, not all the time.

The message held only one word.

_Takao_?

* * *

The car-park of the beachside lodge they were staying at was practically spilling over with their friends as Seirin's van pulled up. Kise and Himuro were having a round of one-on-one on the small court nearby, since there was an old hoop hanging from the side of the building. Kasamatsu and Otsubo appeared to be comparing how annoying their juniors were –if the pointing at Kise and Midorima was anything to go by.

"Tetsu-kun!" a shrill voice cried out as Seirin began to vacate their van. Kuroko was practically toppled to the ground as Momoi's arms wrapped tightly around his next.

"Momoi-san…I…can't breathe…" he coughed, but she just hugged him tighter and the rest of Touou looked on in sympathy as Kuroko's classmates stared on in jealousy. Hyuga glanced across as he dragged his bag from the car and found Imayoshi waving at him cheekily from his spot on a nearby bench.

"My, Hyuga, it took you so long to get here," he called out teasingly. A vein twitched in Hyuga's forehead and he rounded on Kiyoshi.

"_I told you to drive faster_!" he snapped almost violently.

" –I was driving the speed limit the whole way here," Kiyoshi reminded him with a raised eyebrow as it became apparent that Imayoshi was holding out a hand. "…Hey!" he waved brightly, with a cheerful grin. Imayoshi greeted him casually and Hyuga glared at them both as he fished in his pocket for the money he owed the guy.

" –Why does Hyuga keep making bets with that guy?" Koganei whispered to Izuki.

"I bet he's jealous that we have more than one friend with glasses," Izuki muttered back.

"I can hear you, you know!" Hyuga growled crossly, shoving the money into Imayoshi's hand and stalking off to tell the rest of the juniors to hurry up and help unload the car.

"…Maybe we should put them in a room together," Riko remarked with a chuckle.

"…I think both of our teams want to leave with our captains intact," Kiyoshi admitted, "I'll room with Hyuga. Izuki will probably be fine with Imayoshi."

" –Like that's gonna make him any happier," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Took you long enough to turn up," Aomine droned from the bench with Imayoshi and Wakamatsu as Kagami traipsed past with his bag slung over one shoulder. The redhead turned and glared, but realised that the comment lacked bite, and that the bluenette was smirking at him teasingly. He was about to inquire as to when they were going to go and talk to Takao, but that was when a basketball connected lightly with the side of Kagami's head.

In annoyance, he turned to yell at the person who'd been so careless, only to come face-to-face with Himuro Tatsuya.

"Hey, Taiga," Himuro remarked with a small smile, who had come over since Kise was apparently the topic of much debate within the rest of the Kaijo team. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, totally," Kagami admitted with a grin, scratching the back of his head, "It's cool you could come –isn't the rest of your team coming?"

"They didn't want to intrude," Himuro shrugged, "But I managed to convince Atsushi to come along." He nodded over to where Murasakibara was currently sitting off to one side stuffing his face with snacks and apparently not caring overly much about what was going on around him. "I didn't tell him that your Kiyoshi was coming, though." He chuckled to himself with a sheepish shrug, and gestured for Kagami to follow him over to where the majority of the arguing was going on. The redhead started moving off without a second glance at Aomine –looking forward to hanging out with his brother.

Kise was looking distressed.

"What's going on here?" Kagami inquired curiously as there seemed to be a debate going on between the other four members of Kaijo's team, while Kise stood dejectedly beside them with his arms folded.

"Sorting out rooms," Himuro replied with a laugh as Moriyama let out an annoyed sigh.

" –Kasamatsu, you cheated –I demand a do-over," he sniffed crossly, after having lost what seemed to be a tense game of rock-paper-scissors.

"You've already had a do-over," Kasamatsu snorted flatly, "And besides, I don't want to lose –I _always_ get stuck with him!"

"_Stuck with_?" Kise wailed, aghast, "Senpai, that's so mean!"

"They're arguing over who has to room with Kise," Himuro informed the confused Kagami with a laugh, "Are we rooming together?"

"Oh, sure," Kagami grinned, "I kinda thought you'd want to room with Murasakibara?"

"It's no trouble," Himuro shrugged, "He doesn't mind. And I haven't seen my little brother in too long." He jostled Kagami affectionately and Kagami laughed. It was good to see him again, and he was glad he'd asked to room with him –even if he'd just automatically assumed that he was going to be with Aomine. Where was the bastard anyways? They had to go find Takao…who currently appeared to be trying to console Kise as his seniors continued to try and pawn off their ace to each other.

"Oi, Bakagami –"

Oh, there he was.

Kagami turned when he felt someone bump into his other arm; directing his attention to the bluenette, who had decided to follow along with Kuroko in tow.

" –We have to go find Takao," Aomine drawled, and then appeared to only just notice Himuro standing there. He stuck a finger in his ear and put on his best bored voice. "…Who are you?" Kagami raised an eyebrow quizzically. Aomine knew perfectly well who Himuro was.

"Ahh, Aomine," Himuro commented with a small smile, "Himuro Tatsuya; Taiga's brother from way back. I believe you and I met briefly at the Christmas party."

"…We did?" Aomine droned flatly, "…I don't remember."

"I'm not surprised," Himuro shrugged, "After all, if I recall, you spent the majority of the time focused on Taiga –" Kagami, flushing, elbowed his brother playfully to make him shut up. "Sorry. I forget how embarrassed you get." He chuckled to himself and gazed across at Aomine, who yawned disinterestedly, but his blue eyes were fixed on the pale Yosen ace standing to Kagami's other side.

" –Taiga, we should go get our room," Himuro added, a trace of amusement seeping into his voice. Kagami nodded in agreement, not seeing the way that Aomine's eyes narrowed for a moment. But apparently, Himuro and Kuroko saw this, and though they didn't know each other all that well, they exchanged dry glances.

"You're rooming with this guy?" Aomine inquired casually, though those more observant than Kagami heard the _'instead of me?'_ that went unsaid.

"Yeah," Kagami replied with a shrug, "He's my brother and I haven't seen him since Christmas."

" –And besides," Himuro piped up, apparently trying to soothe things, though Aomine didn't see it like that, "…It wouldn't be appropriate for a couple to share a room on a group vacation, right?" He looked pointedly at Kagami, who had actually caught the innuendo and was blushing again. He scoffed and jostled his brother in annoyance that he had had to make such a suggestion.

"Besides, if he rooms with me, I'll forgive him for not telling me that he got himself a boyfriend." He chuckled to himself and seemed to find Kagami's glare most amusing –though the redhead was feeling inwardly guilty, however, he unsure if it was about not personally telling Himuro he was in a relationship, or about not telling him that it was a fake one.. " –Unless there's a problem?"

"Tch, why would I have a problem?" Aomine snorted, though Kuroko and apparently Himuro didn't buy it for a moment. The bluenette just tucked his hands into his pockets and dropped back into his usual slouch, "I was gonna room with Tetsu anyways." Kagami raised an eyebrow –surprised that Kuroko hadn't thought to mention this. Kuroko just met his gaze evenly and didn't confirm or deny that this was a pre-arranged agreement.

"I'm going to see Takao," Aomine announced, nudging Kagami with his elbow to get his attention. Kagami sighed heavily and decided that it probably a good idea to get this over with.

"I'll meet you inside," he informed a rather amused Himuro, who just nodded with a small smile, but gave nothing else away. Aomine was already beginning to stroll off. "Ugh…Sorry about him. He's an ass."

"Well, he must have _some_ redeeming features," Himuro commented lightly, and Kagami just scoffed.

"Tch, what makes you say that?" he snorted, annoyed with Aomine's attitude, "Jeez, what's his problem? _Ahomine_, wait up!" He started heading off after the bluenette and Himuro and Kuroko exchanged glances.

"…Are they always like this?" he deadpanned.

"Always," Kuroko replied flatly, "…Although, Aomine-kun isn't usually so hostile."

"Ahh, so it _was_ hostility I was feeling," Himuro chuckled, "Well, maybe I should be flattered to receive special treatment? Or should I be worried?" Kuroko shrugged, but looked over to where Aomine had slung an arm around Kagami's shoulders and appeared to be complaining about something as per usual. But the pair of them caught sight of Aomine glancing back over his shoulder for a moment.

"On second thoughts…" Himuro added quietly, "I'm not worried at all. This…could be interesting."

* * *

"I want to room with Shin-chan," Takao chirped amongst the Shutoku team.

"No," his seniors immediately replied firmly. He pouted and folded his arms, "We're not going to get _any_ sleep if you two room together," Otsubo reminded him sternly, and Takao chuckled sheepishly as Midorima promptly flushed and looked away.

" –I suppose I could room with Kise then," Takao mused, and was suddenly greeted by an enthusiastic hug as the nearby Kise wrapped his arms around him in delight and the Kaijo team –who still hadn't come to an agreement, looked over at the point guard with looks that were a mixture of sympathy that he'd signed up for the Kise show, and respect that he had saved them.

"You're so much nicer than my senpais!" Kise exclaimed gleefully, "Now you can tell me all sorts of embarrassing things about Midorimacchi!" Takao sniggered and snuck a glance over at Midorima, who really didn't look like he approved of this suggestion at all.

"Sounds fun," Takao chuckled lightly.

"Don't you dare," Midorima threatened, but his mischievous boyfriend just stuck his tongue out at him, before spying Aomine and Kagami stalking over, pointedly ignoring each other despite the fact that Aomine had his arm around the redhead's shoulders.

"Takao?" Kagami grumbled flatly –their argument having been about who was going to inform the point guard about the situation, "…Could we talk to you?" Takao cocked his head inquisitively and nodded with a shrug. "Uhh…like, privately?" There were a couple of sniggers from Shutoku, and Kise's eyes nearly fell out of his head, but Takao just followed after them, lightly calling back, "Don't worry, Shin-chan! If it's for something _fun_ I'll come get you!"

"Takao!" This time it was all three of them who glared at him. He just waved away their embarrassment and dropped into line with them as the teams started heading into the lodge to get their keys and deposit their things.

"What's up?" Takao inquired curiously, as soon as they were far away enough from the others. Aomine dropped his arm from Kagami's shoulder and folded his arms with a heavy sigh.

"We need to…" Kagami muttered, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "Uh…we were wondering if you could…tell us how to act more like a couple?" Takao quirked an eyebrow, not really understanding –and Kagami saw this, so tried again, "…There are gonna be heaps of reporters around coz of that new hotel that's opening…so Coach –and Momoi, seem to think that we should…you know…act all…loved up…and shit…" He felt embarrassed just saying such a thing.

Takao laughed, and that made it even more embarrassing.

" –You mean, dialling up the PDA?" he suggested, "Going all 'summer romance' on them?"

"Uh, I guess?" Kagami cringed.

" –How do we do it?" Aomine interrupted flatly. Takao withheld another snigger. God, Kise was going to _flip_ when he saw Aomine and Kagami were going to try and put on a show of being a blissfully in love couple on a relaxing beach vacation; over-the-top PDA and all.

"Just don't think about it," he replied with a shrug, and they stared at him blankly as though this didn't solve anything at all. "Just…get comfortable. Go with the flow and do what comes easily. Trust me. If you just forget for a bit that you're trying to put on a show and just…" He paused to try and think of the right words, "…Let yourself get caught up in the moment –it'll be fine." They didn't look convinced.

"You're saying that we just have to…act natural?" Kagami queried, "How the hell is that going to work?"

"Trust me," Takao repeated in a distinctly knowing tone, "And don't _act_ natural." He sniggered. "…_Be_ natural. Don't force it." He saw that Kagami was looking a little lost, so he patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "You're stressing yourself out. Chill. We're here to relax, after all!" And with that as his last piece of advice, he chuckled and skipped back over to Midorima, who had apparently been tricked into sharing a room with Murasakibara; a rather unpopular arrangement for both parties, it seemed.

"Kagamicchi! Aominecchi!" Kise hollered brightly from the entranceway, "Hurry up! Some of us are going for a swim!" Kagami grinned at the prospect, but Aomine just yawned.

"Come on," Kagami snorted, elbowing him playfully.

"Nah," he droned, "Too much effort."

"Well okay, be like that," the redhead scoffed with a shrug. Aomine being a lazy asshole was certainly him being natural. He didn't really understand what Takao was talking about, but supposed that he might as well try it out. The last two weeks between he and Aomine had been a tiny bit strained –mostly because Kagami was now kind of on edge that the other ace was going to surprise him with another of those out-of-the-blue kisses. Not that he had particularly _disliked_ it; he just didn't know why Aomine had done it, and wasn't sure if it was meant to have happened.

After all, even Aomine had seemed surprised; like he hadn't consciously made the decision to do it. It wasn't forced; just seemed…

Maybe that was kind of what Takao was talking about? Letting things come naturally? He frowned to himself as they headed over to the entrance to collect their keys from their respective roommates. Just doing, without thinking? Well…he could do that –the coach was _constantly_ telling him that he never thought before he acted, although with this whole thing with Aomine, most of the time he'd been consciously aware of what he was doing…Or at least, thought he was…

Aomine was on a similar train of thought. He got what Takao was getting at, because that last, little kiss that the pair of them had shared was exactly that –it was him getting caught up in the moment; him forgetting himself momentarily, and just moving on impulse. He'd been talking to Kagami…and then suddenly his body had decided that it was the right moment to kiss him.

If that was all there was to it –but on a larger scale, then maybe this wasn't going to be too hard. Aomine knew, if nothing else, to go with his gut…so he was just going to let that rule him for the weekend.

* * *

Takao chuckled to himself as he traipsed off to his room with Kise; resisting the urge to rub his hands together like some kind of evil genius.

"…What did you do, Takao?" Midorima moodily inquired suspiciously, and Takao put on his best, most innocent face he could.

"Nothing, Shin-chan," he assured his boyfriend lightly, but it was very apparent that Midorima was not buying his angelic look for a second. He grinned wickedly, bouncing up and kissing the shooting guard on the cheek –causing Kise to giggle and Midorima to glare at him hotly.

It was going to be interesting to see what came naturally for Aomine and Kagami when they stopped thinking so much and just let things happen.

* * *

**We got Himuro clued in, a Kise-Takao tag team in the cards and Aomine and Kagami deciding that they can totally pull off being loved-up for the public. What sort of beach-time shenanigans ensue? **

**AND YOU'LL FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER (which will either be long, or multiple ones...) I'm so mean.  
Thank you all so much for your continued support and your absolutely fabulous reviews! **

**All my love,  
xx K**


	10. Chapter 10

**So…I said either a longer chapter or multiple… How do you feel about both? Sun-times, fun-times! I know you're all holding out for the AoKaga, but I hope you enjoy the team bonding too!**

* * *

It took about half an hour for everyone who wanted to go to the beach to get ready and assemble on the road, looking out at the beach excitedly. The tide was good, the sun warm, and there was nice soft breeze in the air. Only a couple of them had decided to brave the cold ocean this afternoon –most of them opting to hang out at the lodge or go for a trip to the shops. Otsubo, Susa and Kasamatsu had even decided to head down to fish off the pier.

Takao hurdled the railing with ease with a whoop and looked back over his shoulder with a competitive grin at the other shirtless basketball players standing there in the refreshing sea air.

"Race you!" he hooted, bursting into a sprint on the soft sand –nearly tumbling onto his face in his hurry to sneak a head start.

"Cheat!" Kagami crowed, leaping over the rail with a mighty bound and shooting after him, Himuro, Kise and Wakamatsu and half of the Seirin juniors hurtling off in pursuit. They kicked up sand into the air as they ran –struggling to gather speed on the soft ground.

"…I thought we were here to rest," Imayoshi sighed heavily as he appeared on the other side of the road with Hyuga, Kiyoshi and Izuki, carrying beach towels and a giant umbrella. Kiyoshi just laughed at their enthusiasm as their friends dumped their gear haphazardly across the beach as they raced to reach the water first. Takao, getting the head-start, reached the water first and punched the air triumphantly –only to be bodily tackled straight into the freezing ocean as Wakamatsu caught up and decided that he deserved no celebration.

Takao had only just managed to resurface; completely drenched, when the rest of their group barrelled into the surf beside him; soaking him again. He glared at them, unimpressed, as he spat out a mouthful of sea water.

"Oh my god, it's freezing!" Furihata shuddered, rocketing out of the water again and clutching at his chest.

"It's _refreshing_!" Kise exclaimed in delight, diving off under the waves and elegantly beginning to swim out a bit further. He didn't manage to get far though, before something rose out of the water from beneath him and he was suddenly in the air. "_Kagamicchi! Put me down_!" he wailed, before he was unceremoniously dumped head-first back into the water. He rose amid cackling laughter.

As Hyuga set up the beach umbrella, he heard Kise's squeals and the laughter from the waves. He sighed heavily but couldn't help but smile at the sound of them all having fun. Well…it seemed like fun. There seemed to be an awful lot of cursing and shoving –but they seemed like they were enjoying themselves.

"You interested?" Imayoshi inquired wickedly as he started shuffling a pack of cards. There was already a set of poker chips sitting on the small table that Izuki had carried down. He and Kiyoshi were already sitting there on their beach towels looking intrigued as to how this would go –also wondering if Hyuga was going to take the bait.

"You're not tricking me this time," Hyuga sniffed huffily, pulling out a book and pointedly sitting in his deck chair to prove that he was not going to engage in any kind of betting against Imayoshi. Touou's captain just shrugged as though he wasn't bothered, and began dealing cards out.

About two rounds later, he was losing by a long shot. Kiyoshi chuckled as he won again and collected his winnings. He could see that Hyuga was watching from the corner of his eye and hadn't turned the page of his book in quite some time.

"Maybe you should play?" Izuki remarked conversationally, "Imayoshi seems to be down on his luck today." But he'd seen the glint in his sneaky eyes and knew without a doubt that he was just trying to lure Hyuga into a false sense of security. Apparently his captain had considered this, because he was closing his book very slowly and trying to judge whether or not he stood a chance at winning.

"…Maybe later…" he eventually decided, reopening his book with a snort and turning back to continue reading. The other three guys just chuckled amongst themselves and continued with their game.

* * *

"I thought you were going to the beach, Aomine-kun," Momoi sighed heavily with a slight pout to her lips as she discovered that Aomine was lingering around the door –apparently waiting for her.

"I want ice cream," he informed her flatly, "…And it's too hot to do anything."

"Then go swimming," she sniffed, as Kuroko appeared around the corner, rubbing in sunblock. "I wanted to go get ice cream with Tetsu-kun…"

"I'll come too," Aomine declared in a drawl, shrugging as though it was no big deal. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance –making no attempt to hide from him that she had been wanting to just be alone with Kuroko for a little bit. "There's nothing else interesting going on."

"Mukkun and Midorin are going for ice cream too," she pointed out, "You could go with them–"

"You should go see what's happening on the beach," Kuroko suggested instead, with Momoi letting out a squeal of delight that Kuroko was on her side. "Izuki-senpai text me and said that the others are having fun. Himuro-kun seems to be fitting in well, and they're all ganging up on Kise-kun –" Aomine paused mid-refusal to go down to the sand at the mention of Himuro's name. Kuroko glanced at Momoi with a small, triumphant smile and Momoi giggled in delight as Aomine seemed to reconsider.

"…Tch," he scoffed with a shrug, "Everyone ganging up on Kise? Sounds less boring than getting ice cream with you two…" He wasn't fooling either of them as he yawned and slowly headed back to his room to grab his swimming trunks.

"That was mean," Momoi giggled as she latched on to Kuroko's arm happily.

"Sometimes Aomine-kun needs a little push," Kuroko just shrugged as they headed off, only to wind up almost running headfirst into a giant as they rounded the corner.

"Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara commented curiously, "Mido-chin, I found them, I found them!"

" –Found us?" Momoi inquired curiously.

"You're going for ice cream too, right?" he remarked, looking over his shoulder to see that Midorima was stalking along after him with a toy bucket held in one hand. "We wanna go too…"

"Aw, but…" Momoi pouted in disappointment as Kuroko shrugged and decided that it'd be fine for all four of them to head out together. She sighed heavily as Midorima and Murasakibara joined them. So much for her alone time with Tetsu-kun…But oh well, at least Aomine-kun was heading down to the beach.

* * *

"Aomine?" Imayoshi remarked in surprise as he spied a familiar figure wandering down towards them in t-shirt and swim trunks. Hyuga cursed as he threw down his failed hand, once again accusing Imayoshi of being a dirty hustler. Aomine just tipped his chin in acknowledgement and raised a hand to shield his eyes as he looked out to the ocean. His eyes narrowed as he saw Kagami gambolling through the waves with Himuro and Takao chasing him.

" –Oi, Kagamicchi, isn't that Aominecchi?" Kise suddenly commented as he managed to free himself from Wakamatsu's grasp and hence avoiding being thrown underwater again. Kagami paused for a moment, and looked out in the direction that the blonde was pointing.

His mouth dropped open and he found himself completely unable to tear his eyes away.

Aomine was standing there in the sand, oh-so-casually drawing off his shirt almost in slow motion; his lean, tanned body glowing gold in the hot sunlight. Kagami couldn't help but just _stare_ as he saw that dark shirt slowly rise above his navel to reveal rippling abs –only to shift higher to a sculpted chest. The shirt rode up as Aomine gripped it tightly and dragged it off over his head, rolling his muscled shoulders and flinging the item of clothing into the sand with a seductive toss of his head.

Unconsciously, Kagami made a low noise in the back of his throat. Sure, he'd seen Aomine shirtless before –the guy showered at his place frequently and often wandered around in just a towel.

But _that_…that was different.

Seeing Aomine just strolling through his living room was nothing compared to seeing him strip like that. His mouth ran dry as Aomine stretched languidly like some lithe, wild cat, before depositing himself in the sand.

That body had been pressed against him. Shit.

Suddenly, a large, icy wave hit Kagami in the back and he was nearly thrown off his feet. Takao cruised past on it with a cheery wave and a laugh of, "…Good thing the water's _so cold_, eh Kagami!" The redhead blushed and tried to stammer out some excuse for why he had just been watching Aomine so intently.

"Oh don't be embarrassed, Taiga," Himuro chuckled, playfully shoving him so that he tumbled face first into the water. The iciness did something for his flaming face at least. Himuro splashed him as he resurfaced, "…You're allowed to think your boyfriend's hot." That blush was back in full force.

" –I don't think he's…" he began to say, but received a wave of salt water to the face which blocked out the words that had somehow caught in his throat.

It wasn't weird for him to be able to appreciate a nice body, right? He liked to think that his own body at least was fairly attractive –at least stereotypically. He had a six pack –well defined, if he did say so himself; muscled shoulders –a low percentage of body fat despite how much he ate; yeah, he _did_ know what kind of things a female, for example, found physically appealing in a guy –hell, in America he'd been forced into watching enough chick flicks to know...

So technically, it was totally reasonable that he should be able to notice such things on a guy other than himself and appreciate that they might also be attractive. To some people.

God did Aomine tick all those boxes.

"Go on," Kise nudged Kagami playfully, "Go get Aominecchi! It'll be fun!"

"Kise, are you trying to make more trouble for yourself?" Takao commented with a sigh as Wakamatsu obligingly lifted the blonde up by his waist and tossed him further out into the ocean as though he was a rag doll. He resurfaced a few metres away, huffily spitting out seawater. "See what I mean? And Aomine will probably do the same and just hold you under for a bit."

"Go get him," Himuro urged lightly as he dove off into the surf, "…He obviously wanted your attention…" he added under his breath, but the redhead didn't hear that. Kagami just splashed his own face to clear his head and then reminded himself that he wasn't meant to be thinking.

He just had to _do_. And right now…Aomine was looking far too comfortable, and far too dry.

"…Um…someone want to…explain…" Hyuga remarked flatly, as he and the three others currently playing poker just stared over to where the now-shirtless Aomine was now lounging in the sun with his eyes closed. They blinked in shock at having just witnessed Touou's ace apparently putting on a show.

"I was stretching," Aomine droned with a light yawn.

"…You go ahead and tell yourself that," Imayoshi muttered under his breath, "Hyuga, you lose again."

"This is not fucking happening, you cheat," Hyuga snapped crossly. "Izuki, your turn to deal! I don't trust this guy."

" –But I dealt last time…"

"He's _obviously_ cheating!"

"Hyuga…you're just really bad at poker…"

Aomine let out a short breath as he sleepily drank in the sun. He'd been stretching, that was all. And then his shirt had gotten caught on…something and it had just taken…longer to get off…

Oh, who the fuck was he kidding? He'd wanted to make sure that Kagami's attention was off Himuro and on him. _He_ was the boyfriend. Supposedly. Or something like that. Not to mention, Himuro bugged him. And the fact that he bugged him, bugged him. The guy hadn't done anything wrong, really; hadn't insulted him, hadn't been rude to him. He'd literally just come up to Kagami and started talking to him in the car park, and as they had walked off, for reasons that Aomine couldn't quite fathom, he'd decided that he straight up didn't like him.

This was a nasty feeling that he couldn't shake. And strangely, when he'd seen the pair of them in the surf, he'd automatically decided that he did not enjoy it. It almost felt like he was being ignored, and he detested being ignored –especially by Kagami, who had always sought to outdo him; and especially when the attention was on _that guy_.

And, since Takao had said to let things come naturally, Aomine didn't stop to think this feeling through. His mind had decided that it rather needed to redirect Kagami's attention –short of yelling 'Oi, look at me', and taking off his shirt in a ridiculously dramatic way had seemed as good an idea as any other.

He was suddenly roused from his dozing by the feeling of water dripping on him. His blue eyes flickered open hazily and he squinted as a shadow fell across him. He raised a tanned hand over his eyes and scowled.

"Idiot, you're blocking my sun," he complained flatly. Water dripped on his face. It tasted salty. He propped himself up on his elbows and glared up at the redhead who was currently standing over him, water rolling down his skin and dripping off the chiselled edges of his muscles to fall onto Aomine's chest.

It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen Kagami shirtless before.

He was thicker, and broader than he, himself was, and obviously his skin wasn't as dark –but it was still an _interesting_ sight. Aomine laid it out as the novelty of never having seen him shirtless before as to why he'd suddenly become so fascinated.

"Are you coming in?" Kagami scoffed, shaking his head and sending spray all over the bluenette.

"Oi, don't do that," he complained with a glare. "No. It's too much effort. Go away." But inwardly he was smirking that he had successfully pushed Himuro out of the picture for the meantime.

"Or what?" Kagami smirked challengingly, "Bet I can beat you down to the water." He shrugged with a smirk and had the nerve to turn his back on Aomine.

"You're far too slow," the other ace shot back.

"_The only one who can beat me is me_," they both said at the same time –Kagami's voice mocking, and Aomine's annoyed at being challenged. Without waiting for Kagami to say any more, Aomine's competitive spirit flared into life –his pride on the line –and he lurched up from the sand and barrelled towards the ocean, with Kagami cursing him for cheating, hot on his tail. Neither of them noticed that they passed Himuro on their way down to the water. The Yosen ace was busy heading to join the poker players.

"Those two are unbelievable, aren't they?" Hyuga muttered, shaking his head in exasperation.

" –What's unbelievable is your shitty poker face," Izuki remarked flatly. Seriously. The guy couldn't bluff to save his life. Hyuga just glared at him crossly. "See? Kiyoshi, help me out here."

"You are pretty bad," Kiyoshi admitted, and Hyuga growled, "I don't need this from you!" as they noticed that they had a newcomer. "…Ahh, Himuro! Tired already?"

"No, no," he assured them, "My work there was done." He nodded out to the water, where Aomine was now floating lazily on his back –only to wind up getting pushed under for a second by Kise –which of course sparked the next round of 'throw Kise in the ocean'.

"Ahh," Hyuga remarked disinterestedly, "You sure caught on quick."

"Aomine wasn't too hard on you, I hope?" Imayoshi added conversationally.

" –Barely spoke to him," Himuro admitted with a shrug. "Although I can't say I'm overly surprised about this." He nodded out to the waves to indicate where Aomine and Kagami, both chest-deep in water were arguing and apparently trying to dunk each other under –Takao and Kise cheering out encouragement.

"How so?" Kiyoshi remarked as he stared down at the cards laid out there.

" –The Christmas party," he replied vaguely, "…Even before the ordeal with the mistletoe…Aomine was all Taiga was focused on. Surely you must have noticed?"

"Well, Kagami always did have a bit of a fixation on Aomine," Hyuga admitted flatly. "Sometimes, I admit, it bordered on unhealthy." His teammates nodded in agreement. He sighed in resignation that he was never going to top Imayoshi in poker.

"Actually…" Imayoshi commented suddenly, "…I've been meaning to say…These days…There's something unusual about Aomine."

"How so?" Kiyoshi piped up curiously.

"I'm not sure," the Touou captain shrugged, "…He just seems…" They were startled to hear a short bark of unfamiliar laughter rising up from the distance –and were startled to realise that it was Aomine; amused by Kagami being swept off his feet and sent tumbling face-first towards the beach by a large wave.

"…Different."

* * *

"Ow, ow…" Kiyoshi cringed as Hyuga promptly slapped his red back as Riko busied herself with applying some after-sun gel to his burnt skin.

"Why didn't you wear sunscreen?" she sighed heavily as Hyuga gave him an unsympathetic look as he passed across towards the table where the point guards –minus Takao –were engaging in a friendly (though increasingly competitive) chess tournament.

The sun was on its descent, and the boys who had been on the beach had returned after a few hours in the surf, ready for food. Currently, Mitobe and Koganei were working on sorting out enough food for them all, since they'd gone down to the shops in preparation, and Susa and Otsubo were manning the barbeque with some of the fish that they and Kasamatsu had caught off the pier.

Their whole group had congregated on the small lawns of the lodge, where there was a small court with a pair of old hoops. All the males present (aside from Kuroko and Midorima, who didn't want to get sunburnt) had cast aside their shirts and the majority of them were lounging on deck chairs and enjoying the sun –or the drinks that Sakurai, and Riko (until she had been called upon to treat Kiyoshi's sunburn) had been preparing. Riko had been assigned to drinks mostly so that she wouldn't venture anywhere near the food.

"There we go," she sighed, finishing rubbing the cooling gel onto Kiyoshi's back so he could return to the little three-on-three game that was taking place on the court. "Put a shirt on, will you?"

"I'm already burnt," Kiyoshi chuckled lightly with a shrug and she rolled her eyes, looking out to the six males on the court. Kagami, Himuro and Takao appeared to be one team, with Aomine, Wakamatsu and Kiyoshi on the other. For once, she allowed herself to look with the eye of a female, rather than a trainer, and couldn't help but appreciate the powerful, sculpted bodies of the males on the lawn.

"Now, now, Riko," Kiyoshi laughed teasingly as he watched her cheeks flush slightly as she realised how rather good looking they actually all were, "Aren't you being a little unprofessional?"

"It's my day off," she sniffed, "Sometimes I'm allowed to just be a girl, aren't I?" Kiyoshi just grinned at her and headed back off to re-join the game as Riko leaned back and soaked up some of the sun. The delicious smell of barbequed fish was rising up, and she couldn't help but appreciate how nice it was to have everyone here like this.

"Your move, Izuki," Imayoshi chuckled to himself as he folded his hands together and rested his chin on them innocently. Izuki raised an eyebrow and glanced across to the game that Kasamatsu and Hyuga were currently engaged in. He wanted to win…but he also _really_ wanted to see Imayoshi play against Hyuga…

Ahh well, there was still plenty of time for that. He lifted his rook with a smirk as he glanced down on the chess board.

"…Let's take a rook at what we've got here…" he remarked conversationally. Hyuga swatted him over the back of the head for his truly awful joke. Imayoshi laughed at it though, and Seirin's captain just snapped, "Don't encourage him!"

"Nice shot, Tatsuya!" Kagami called out excitedly as Himuro sank a three-pointer just as Kiyoshi returned to the game. Yosen's ace received a high-five from Takao, who looked over to where Midorima was lounging on a sunbed with his shades on to conceal the fact that he was watching the game with interest.

"Shin-chan, why don't you come play?" he called out with a sigh at his boyfriend being so damn stubborn.

"Not interested," Midorima called back flatly.

"I know you're watching, so just come play," Takao rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, Midorimacchi, be fun," Kise chuckled from the sunbed next to him, sipping on a drink as Sakurai made the rounds again. Takao just shrugged and turned his back on him –moving back to the game again. Kise sniggered knowingly, "…Ahh, just checking out your boyfriend, I see…" he added sneakily.

"I am doing no such thing," Midorima assured him darkly.

"Are you mad at me because I get to room with him?"

"Go away, Kise."

"Shin-chan, you didn't deny being my boyfriend this time!" Takao chortled wickedly, and Midorima glared at him through his shades. "Kagami, did you hear?"

"I heard," Kagami snickered, finding Midorima's annoyance hilarious. He managed to dribble past Wakamatsu and triumphantly slammed the ball down through the hoop.

"Dammit," Wakamatsu muttered, "You seriously jump like no one else…" Kagami chuckled with a grin, wiping sweat from his brow and running back to re-join Himuro.

"Nice dunk," Himuro remarked lightly, "Getting past Wakamatsu isn't easy."

"Tell me about it," Kiyoshi commented from the other team –despite currently playing on the same side as the guy. He'd had to go up against him more than once, and he knew first-hand how fast the guy was; not to mention he was incredible at getting rebounds –and over all, _loud_.

"A lucky shot," Wakamatsu sniffed, cricking his neck, "Won't happen again, Kagami!"

"You're on," Kagami grinned in excitement, the competition flooding through his veins with excitement. Himuro smiled at him with his small smile as he jogged past to mark Wakamatsu, with Himuro left to mark Aomine.

"Take him down, Taiga!" he called out encouragingly.

"No sweat," the redhead chuckled back, intercepting a pass from Kiyoshi and whipping past Wakamatsu –only to find that the blonde was on him again almost immediately. He faked and tried to break past again, but his opponent wasn't letting him off that easy this time. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he instead passed off to Takao who side-stepped Kiyoshi and managed to send it off to Himuro. Aomine didn't look like he was about to let him past, but that wasn't what the Yosen player had in mind. Instead, he took a long shot at the hoop and waited.

Kagami lurched past Wakamatsu one last time to spring up with that astonishing jump of his and brought the ball crashing down through the hoop as Wakamatsu jumped too late.

"That was a bad shot, Muro-chin," Murasakibara remarked from where he was (like Midorima) pretending not to watch the game. Himuro clapped Kagami on the shoulder in congratulations and just shrugged.

"My shot was perfect, Atsushi," he corrected, receiving a thumbs up from Kagami.

"You two sure make a great team," Takao remarked lightly as he poked his head between the pair of them and snuck a cheeky glance at Aomine, who looked thoroughly put out, though it wasn't obvious if it was because Himuro had gotten a shot over him, Wakamatsu had let Kagami score again, or that the pair of them had gotten the points together.

"You think?" Himuro commented in an equally light tone.

"Oh yeah," Takao continued with a shrug, "_Much_ better than Aomine and Kagami –I had to team up with them for that street-ball tournament and _god_, they fought the whole time –" Ooh, Aomine was glaring daggers.

" –Oi, Aomine, we'll get the points back," Wakamatsu growled agitatedly. "We're ahead anyway…"

"I'm taking Kagami," Aomine declared flatly, holding out a hand to demand a pass. The blonde just rolled his eyes in exasperation and passed it off irritably.

"Come on Aominecchi!" Kise hollered from where he was busy tanning.

"Kise-kun, I thought you were betting on Kagami-kun's team?" Kuroko remarked flatly.

" –I like to keep things interesting," Kise shrugged with a laugh.

"Beat him, Kagami!" Hyuga called out from the picnic table.

" –Stop making bets with Imayoshi," Kiyoshi advised as he watched his current teammate very carefully. Aomine's eyes had narrowed darkly, as he slowly dribbled up towards Himuro. And then, he suddenly unleashed his dramatic change of pace and drove past the stunned ace with ease –Himuro physically toppling over backwards as he was passed.

Takao decided to hang back a little, seeing as it seemed like Aomine was going to force a one-on-one with Kagami no matter what.

Kagami was more than eager to accept.

The pair of them faced off, Kagami not letting his guard drop even slightly –because even though this was a friendly match, he would never take Aomine lightly. He could see deep blue eyes already glinting at him in triumph, and the muscles of his bare arm rippled with every bounce of the basketball. Red gaze met blue, gleaming with determination.

And then suddenly, Aomine darted forwards. Kagami moved almost instantly to block his path, just as his opponent had known he would. Aomine's feet immediately decelerated to a standstill but the momentum carried his lithe body onwards; his arm staying back to keep the ball bouncing beyond Kagami's reach. The redhead, who had shifted to stop the other ace, hadn't been expecting this, and suddenly found a muscled, tanned body well within his personal space, and a pair of smug lips fastened against his.

Kagami felt Aomine chuckle wickedly as the bluenette's tongue slicked teasingly between his slightly parted lips and caressed his mouth in a single, long, languid stroke. Automatically, Kagami began to respond to the unexpected kiss –but only for a second as Aomine pulled back and rolled around the stunned redhead. Kagami, whose weight had shifted forwards to keep his mouth connected with Aomine's, teetered off balance as he jerked away, and didn't manage to recover before Touou's ace had jetted onwards and dunked the ball with an almighty crash.

Momoi and Riko both giggled in delight and clapped gleefully as Kagami spun around crossly –glaring Aomine.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"What was what?" Aomine mocked with a grin. Kagami actually blinked in astonishment. Sure, there was still a trace of that mocking smirk, but that was an honest-to-god, thoroughly-pleased-with-him _grin_. Momoi clasped her hands together in amazement at seeing such an expression on Aomine's face, and when she snuck a look at Kuroko, she could see that he'd noticed, and seemed just as touched by it.

" –There has _got_ to be some kind of rule against that!" Kagami exploded hotly; feeling his face practically ignite into a blush as Kise wolf whistled and Murasakibara childishly called out, "Kaga-chin and Mine-chin, sitting in a tree…"

"Hmm, I'm gonna allow it," Takao decided, playing referee.

"Takao! He's on the other team!" the redhead exclaimed crossly.

" –A good referee isn't biased," the point guard informed him smugly.

"You're not a good referee," Midorima deadpanned, but Takao decided to pointedly ignore this comment with a snooty look at his boyfriend.

"That was a dirty trick," Kagami snapped, glowering at Aomine as the other ace tossed him the ball.

"Take your free throw. See if I care," Aomine chuckled mockingly with a nonchalant shrug.

"You should've seen his face, Aominecchi!" Kise crowed gleefully, "He looked so disappointed when you pulled away!"

"Kise!"

"Hah? That so?" Aomine mused, before his expression quickly became wicked again as he casually sauntered past Kagami. The redhead was still glaring, but his cheeks were flushed pink. "In that case…" He eyed Himuro pointedly, before hooking an arm around Kagami's shoulders as he often did. This time, however, with the hand around his shoulder, he pushed the redhead's face towards him and moved in to press a hot kiss against his lips.

Almost immediately, Kagami's lips parted to allow Aomine's tongue entrance, and he kissed back forcefully; open-mouthed and hungry –only to pull back abruptly as Aomine's head twisted to deepen the kiss. As if to say 'how do _you_ like it?' Kagami took a step back with a superior look and almost laughed at the _put out_ expression on Aomine's face as his tongue sulkily trailed back into his mouth with a light brush of his upper lip.

"Kuro-chin…is your nose bleeding?"

"Keep it off the court you two," Kiyoshi chuckled as he stepped between the pair of aces to make sure that nothing unfriendly –or too friendly –erupted. He was booed from the side-lines for his interference but just laughed it off and shooed Aomine away so Kagami could take his free throw unhindered.

Kagami was beginning to understand what Takao had said earlier about being natural. Ok, so he hadn't been expecting Aomine to pull out a dirty trick like that during a basketball game, but he'd just let his body roll with it and kiss him back –only to wind up feeling a little _cheated_, both about Aomine distracting him like that, and how he cut off the kiss.

…Not so long ago he'd been freaking out about a _goodbye_ kiss, and now he was wanting _proper_ kisses? Man. Maybe the heat was going to his head. Then again…_proper_ kisses were what he was used to with Aomine. They were heated, but they were showy –therefore, just for show. That simple, parting kiss, though done in front of other people, felt…private.

Their showy kisses were for everyone else. That goodbye kiss was something else entirely; like it was just for them.

So maybe it was better that he wanted something hot and showy rather than something simple; maybe it was better that he was more comfortable with a raw, unrestrained display than anything indicative of romance or affection.

"Oi, Kagami, head in game," Takao chirped forcefully and he snapped back to reality in time to see Wakamatsu charging past him.

_Yeah, just let things come naturally. Ferocity was what came naturally to both he and Aomine_.

"Are they going to spend their whole vacation just playing basketball?" Riko sighed with an exasperated smile, watching them continue with their game –Aomine apparently deciding not to sully his basketball with more dirty tricks.

"Basketball-crazy," Momoi reminded her with a giggle as she headed over and helped herself to another drink, fanning herself with a creamy hand.

"You might say they're…" Izuki mused aloud.

"Shut up Izuki…" Hyuga warned, already knowing what was coming.

"_Basket-cases_."

His captain groaned in exasperation, but Kasamatsu and Imayoshi burst out laughing –much to Izuki's delight.

"Oh, there you are!" Kise suddenly exclaimed in delight, and there was a soft bark in response –immediately startling Kagami and causing him to spin around, completely tense. Kise grinned happily as Nigou padded out from the lodge –apparently having been taking a nap in Kuroko's room. The little dog yapped in recognition and bounded over to leap up onto Kise's lap. The blonde chortled and got up off the sunbed to find something to play fetch with.

Momoi giggled at Kise as Kuroko got up to join in and smiled affectionately at her Tetsu-kun.

"…Hopefully they tire all themselves out," she admitted with a sigh.

"We're not toddlers!" Wakamatsu complained loudly.

"Food!" Otsubo boomed out mightily as Mitobe gave him the thumbs up to assure him that he'd finished laying out paper plates and arranging the feast they'd been preparing. Those not playing (plus Kiyoshi, who had just had his sunburn slapped by a particularly hearty clap on the back by an enthusiastic Wakamatsu) began milling over towards the food.

"I'll grab something for Hyuga," Riko chuckled to Izuki as they looked over to see their captain staring intently at the chess board; so focused on beating Imayoshi at _this_ that he was completely oblivious to everything else.

"Yo, Sakurai, come have a game after dinner!" Wakamatsu hollered –unfortunately right in Kiyoshi's ear. Kiyoshi just winced and sighed in resignation that his ears were going to be burning after a weekend in the vicinity of Wakamatsu.

"Uhh…sure…If it's okay…" he stammered out.

"Play, Sakurai!" Takao grinned, "Shin-chan and Murasakibara are going to play the next game, right?"

"Not that I was aware of," Midorima sniffed.

"You should play, Atsushi," Himuro suggested.

"Don't _wanna_," Murasakibara sniffed as he wandered over to inspect what there was in the way of food. He was already sucking on a popsicle but seemed a little interested in some of what Mitobe and Koganei were advertising –it seemed like there might be some kind of unspoken cooking competition going on between them and the wannabe fishermen.

"Everything smells great!" Kiyoshi complimented as he approached with the freshmen in tow.

"Tetsu-kun! I grabbed you some food!" Momoi called out brightly, waving to him as he and Kise played with Nigou. He smiled at her gratefully and she practically melted on the spot.

Kagami was torn between his two loves –food and basketball, but as he was about to make a final shot, his stomach growled loudly and he looked up at Wakamatsu guiltily.

"Food," they both agreed. Kagami chuckled and rolled the basketball over to the sunbeds as Aomine wandered over to him with a smirk and looped an arm around his bare shoulder.

"Still lost, Bakagami," Touou's ace drawled condescendingly and Kagami's eyes flashed crossly as he wrapped his own arm comfortably around Aomine's shoulders as well.

"Just you wait, bastard, I'll get you back after dinner!" he challenged hotly.

"I'm so scared," Aomine mocked with a grin that Kagami decided he kind of liked. It was something so very different from his usual scowl or smirk. "…You can _try_…"

"…Shin-chan, can you –"

"Here, Takao," Midorima remarked with a sigh, holding out a plate of food that he had already collected for the point guard. Their seniors all nudged each other and chuckled at how their shooting guard blushed pink as Takao found a nice spot on the grass for them.

"Kagami –" Aomine sniggered, holding up a piece of food to the redhead's mouth. Automatically, Kagami opened his mouth in time for the morsel to be shoved in. He glared at the other ace rather crossly as he chewed –much to Aomine's amusement.

"Sure is handy that it's a reflex for you to open your mouth when something's shoved at it," Takao remarked in a wickedly suggestive tone, and both Aomine and Kagami immediately glared over at him; not appreciating the insinuation.

"…Speak for yourself," Midorima remarked flatly, casually prying a piece of fish off his fork with his teeth. A large proportion of people in his vicinity turned and stared at what Midorima had said, and it was Takao's turn to rub his neck sheepishly and clear his throat in embarrassment. Their other Shutoku teammates promptly spluttered on their drinks and food.

"Shin-chan…ahh…" he remarked in a cough.

"Don't be rude," Midorima scolded with a sniff as his usually so open boyfriend blushed uncharacteristically. Both Kagami and Aomine laughed along with everyone else –it was so unusual for Takao to get shut down like that; and especially so by his haughty boyfriend. All the more hilarious; he hadn't denied a thing.

* * *

The evening progressed with laughter, food, and a whole lot of basketball.

"Do we wake them up?" Riko remarked with a chuckle to Momoi and Kuroko, as they finished helping tidy up. Momoi giggled as they looked across the lawn and saw some of their friends collapsed asleep on the ground –exhausted. Kise was snuggling into the waist of a still-awake Kasamatsu –who looked less than impressed at being used as a pillow but who wasn't disturbing his ace as he finished off a game of Risk with Imayoshi (Hyuga having finally beaten him in snakes and ladders earlier and not wanting to push his luck).

Wakamatsu and Otsubo were snoring on the grass with Sakurai, Furihata and the other young ones stacking empty plates and beach things on him as high as they could under Koganei's guidance; Takao and Midorima were both asleep on one of the sunbeds, Takao resting with his back to his Shin-chan's chest with the shooting guard's arms loosely around him.

Aomine, Kagami and Himuro were all asleep up on the porch; up against the wall of the lodge, all lined in a row –Kagami's head lolling to one side so that it was resting on Aomine's bare shoulder. Murasakibara was sitting on Himuro's other side sticking lollipop wrappers and popsicle sticks to his face and hair.

"Aren't they just adorable?" Momoi commented in a delighted whisper, though Riko couldn't _really _tell who she was talking about. The silence was rather blissful, and they just all looked so peaceful. Her eyes widened happily as she gleefully pointed out to the other young woman that Aomine's hand was placed almost possessively over Kagami's as they slept. The pair of them gave silent squeals of '_that is so cute!' _and '_should we wake Kise to tell him_?' But in all honesty, Kise looked perfectly content with his face buried into Kasamatsu's abdomen –though his captain was looking rather annoyed that he was once again Kise's minder. Irritated with Kise's over-affection, he pushed the blonde's head away and Kise grumbled automatically, "Senpai, you're so mean…"

"Kise, you're annoying," Kasamatsu groaned, swatting him on the head and pulling on his cheek to get him to move. "Kise, you have three seconds before there's ice going to fall on you."

Kise just made a pouty noise.

"…Three…"

Kise rolled away from him with a yelp of horror and squirmed in the grass wildly as something icy cold ran down his back. Kasamatsu just looked at him unsympathetically and Imayoshi sniggered to himself as Izuki came to his fellow point-guard's aid armed with a bowl of ice cubes.

"I was having such a nice dream," Kise complained morosely, "Kurokocchi transferred to Kaijo and we got to play together all the time –_OW, senpai_!" He held his poor head as Kasamatsu swatted him again.

" –Izuki-senpai…could I please have some of that ice?" Kuroko remarked innocently.

"Sure, it's cool," he replied casually, but the other two point guards still awake burst out laughing. Hyuga rolled his eyes from the other side of the lawn and facepalmed dramatically. Kuroko slyly took one ice cube and silently wandered over to the porch where the aces of Touou, Seirin and Yosen were sitting. Riko and Momoi watched curiously, with Kiyoshi and Hyuga pausing in packing up to observe.

Gently, Kuroko dropped the ice down Aomine's back.

Aomine's eyes flickered open sleepily, and then his whole body suddenly jerked as he clutched at his back with both hands –also realising that he'd practically been holding Kagami's hand in his sleep.

"Tetsu! The fuck?" he exclaimed crossly, seeing Kuroko standing nearby with Momoi bursting out laughing, and Murasakibara snickering in that way of his. Without realising, his movements had jostled Kagami from the spot on his shoulder, sending the redhead slumping down to land on his back with his head rested in Aomine's lap. That just made Momoi and Riko clap in delight.

Aomine was about to knee Kagami in the back of the head to make him wake up, but something stopped him as one of his hands limply fell to rest on the other ace's chest.

Kagami's eyes were still closed; locked in sleep. His expression was soft and he was breathing deeply and peacefully. Aomine cocked his head a little, an eyebrow arching curiously. Kagami was almost always on fire, in a manner of speaking, and to see him at rest like this was new. It was kinda like…having a big _cat_ in his lap. For some reason…he felt the overwhelming urge to pet his hair, wondering if he'd purr.

Momoi wished that the camera's batteries were finished recharging. What she wouldn't give to capture this moment –Aomine tentatively looking at Kagami like a curious child might the first time the family pet makes itself comfortable with them.

But running his hands through Kagami's hair seemed gross and too damn _cute_ for Aomine's liking, so he slumped down a little, and folded his arms firmly to make sure that they didn't wander. He'd been far too okay with the feel of Kagami's skin under his hand for his liking.

"Oi," he grumbled, letting his expression harden back into that condescending scowl as he jiggled his knee to wake up the redhead, "Wake up…" Kagami's eyes flickered open sleepily and he yawned, stretching his limbs and his hand accidentally swatting the bluenette in the face. Aomine glared at him crossly and Kagami suddenly seemed to understand that his rather comfortable pillow was in fact his rival-slash-not-boyfriend's powerful thighs.

Startled, he bolted upright, almost kicking Himuro in the process, and lost his balance, nearly falling face-first off the porch. Kise was almost helpless with laughter –and the point guards were grinning like idiots as Kagami looked up sheepishly.

The sound seemed to rouse the other sleeping players; Wakamatsu letting out an explosive snort and everything toppling off him –much to his surprise. The juniors all scattered, dragging an immediately apologising Sakurai away and leaving Imayoshi to try and explain.

"Good night boys," Riko called out with a chuckle and a wave as she and Momoi headed off to their room to get ready for bed. It was getting late, and they were looking forward to heading to the beach in the morning. It had been a great evening –even Midorima and Murasakibara getting involved in the games and having a good time (as much as they didn't want to admit it) and they had a whole day more of it tomorrow.

"You still didn't beat me, Bakagami," Aomine sniggered as the pair of them sleepily got to their feet –Himuro slowly waking to discover that his face was covered in rubbish and Murasakibara chuckling and trying to look innocent. Kagami glared at him crossly as they stood chest to chest; their rivalry threatening to override their tiredness.

"Play nice," Kuroko commented from right beside them, causing both of them to leap out of their skin suddenly and glare at him for not warning them of his presence. He just quirked an eyebrow at the two of them, and walked off, trading eye-rolls with Himuro as he walked past.

"Come on, Taiga," Himuro chuckled, clapping his brother on the back, "I'm pretty tired." Kagami shrugged in consent.

"Tch, not like you to go with the crowd," Aomine mocked flatly. Himuro and Kuroko both deadpanned at the less-than-subtle 'you don't have to go just because _he's_ going' but Kagami just snorted, "I'm tired, Ahomine. But I'm gonna mop the floor with your face tomorrow, you can bet on it."

"Well, as long as it's not Hyuga betting on it," Imayoshi called lightly from the lawn as he and Kasamatsu finally called it quits.

"Night!" Kagami hollered with a brief wave, nudging Aomine in the elbow companionably as a farewell. "See you in the morning, yeah?" He hadn't intended to sound hopeful, but that was definitely how it came across.

Aomine just chuckled, once again gracing him with one of those new, rare smiles that for some reason made Kagami want to grin right on back.

"Yeah."

Tomorrow, he'd figure out how to keep that smile on Aomine's face. He kinda liked it there.

* * *

**Was that a teasing read? It kinda was, right? I wanted to have a little something to involve their friends because I feel that they've all bonded because of this whole thing. I kinda like the idea of the point-guards playing strategy games and all that together, and them finding Izuki hilarious.**

**But tomorrow's a new day, filled with sand, a bit of fun, and of course a bonfire on the beach to celebrate a successful weekend trip away. Not to mention Aomine and Kagami acting on impulse under the ever-watching eye of the visiting journalists...  
Hope you'll continue, even if this chapter wasn't the steam you were expecting/hoping for!**

Love,  
xx K


	11. Chapter 11

**It's taken me slightly longer than usual to update, but if the extra day dragged by, please accept my excuse of having to split one giant chapter into two still relatively big chapters... *smiles* So, here's two chapters uploaded at once! (but feel free to leave reviews for both!) Hope you enjoy!  
Here, we re-visit the beach… More bonding moments…and maybe a treat or two… **

* * *

There was a pained yell from one of the open doors down the hall, and those headed down the corridor to the car park stared in surprise as Kise Ryouta suddenly came flying out from the room and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Sorry senpai…" he remarked morosely into the carpet. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to the beach with us!"

"_Didn't Moriyama tell you I was sleeping_?" Kasamatsu could be heard yelling back in exasperation.

"I just thought I'd check…" Kise called back apologetically, "…Okay…we'll meet you down there soon! Have a good sleep!"

"Tch, just wait…" Kasamatsu grumbled flatly, "I'm already up, so I'll come now…" Hyuga, and Kiyoshi, who had seen the whole thing just stared –Kiyoshi unable to stop himself from chuckling as Kasamatsu appeared a few minutes later in his swim trunks and carrying his towel. Kise delightedly hooked an arm around his senior's neck and was subsequently elbowed remorselessly in the gut.

"You guys sure got lucky with your juniors," he deadpanned irritably as he joined the two Seirin seniors. Kise mock pouting from behind him.

"…You think so, do you?" Hyuga remarked dully, the three of them –plus Kise in tow –heading out to the car park to join the rest of the group.

Riko drank in the fresh sea breeze with delight as she stood staring out at the beach with her hands on her hips. It was an absolutely beautiful day –probably going to be really hot –and the sand was buzzing with life.

"Shutoku's set up a volleyball net, for anyone that's interested," she called out, pointing over to where Miyaji and Kimura were busy warming up –with no sign of Otsubo or Takao…Actually, after straining her eyes for a moment, she could pick out the point guard busy digging a hole while Sakurai and the Seirin juniors made use of the sand and appeared to be building a castle.

"I know right," Koganei exclaimed hotly; apparently as a response to something Mitobe had…telepathically informed him, "They're building a sandcastle without us!"

"Sandcastles?" Murasakibara's ears pricked up in interest, "Muro-chin, Muro-chin, can we go build one?"

"Is this going to wind up _me_ building one while you stick popsicle sticks in it?" Himuro remarked with a raised eyebrow. Murasakibara chuckled sheepishly and poked him in the nose with the stick of the popsicle he'd just finished eating. Himuro just chuckled and waved over at Kagami.

"Taiga, come build sandcastles!" he hollered. Kagami burst out laughing as he hurdled the railings alongside his brother and jogged down on the hot sand to discover that Takao was not only digging a hole, he was digging a hole with the intention of putting Otsubo in it.

"Kagami!" the point guard sniggered as the small group ran over while everyone else decided to investigate the volleyball net, or busied themselves with setting up umbrellas, towels and deck chairs. "Come help me dig. The hole is gonna be _huge_ and we're gonna bury Otsubo!" Kagami raised an eyebrow at looked over at Shutoku's captain.

"Lost a bet," he sighed heavily as an explanation. Kagami grabbed one of the nearby shovels and started digging; pulling up more sand for the sandcastle-builders to use. It appeared that Sakurai had quite a flair for shell decoration.

" –Hey, look, there looks like there's a camera crew down the beach," Takao remarked conversationally. Kagami glared at him –understanding what the sneaky point guard was getting at. He knew what they had to do –but he thought he thoroughly deserved to bury someone in the sand first.

Riko couldn't help but laugh as she saw giant basketball players sitting in the sand and building castles like they were children again. More hilarious was the fact that though they were all incredibly good at basketball, the majority of them were useless at volleyball, sans Kise, who seemed to be great at everything.

"_Over_ the net," Izuki was coaxing a rather irritated Hyuga. "The ball goes _over_ the net."

"_I know that_," he snapped crossly, "I'm trying!" He swung his hand at the ball and it promptly went flying straight into the net to clatter to the sand. "No, that's it –I'm sticking to basketball!"

"My, Hyuga, not like you to quit at something," Imayoshi remarked lightly from where he was lounging on a deck chair, watching the proceedings in interest.

"I'm not quitting," Hyuga sniffed, "…I'm subbing out so I can…put sunscreen on."

"You already put some on."

"You can't be too careful," Kiyoshi reminded him seriously, pointing at his bright red shoulders. Imayoshi just chuckled to himself as Hyuga stalked back over to his chair –which he pointedly moved further away from the irksome captain.

"Ahh, isn't this nice, Aomine-kun?" Momoi sighed contentedly as she propped herself up on her towel to get a better look at what was going on with the rest of the beach. She glanced sideways for a moment to where Aomine was sunbathing with her and Riko –it almost seemed like he'd fallen asleep already, but she knew that beneath lowered lids, he was intently watching the goings-on; especially those occurring over by the sandcastles…

"Hah?" he remarked in a grunt, pretending not to have heard her correctly. She just giggled.

"It's nice to be with everyone, isn't it?" she pointed cheerfully, and giggled when Wakamatsu cheered explosively at having managed to score a point against Miyaji.

"Is it?" he commented in a bored tone.

"Ahh, Aomine-kun," she grumbled, "It's okay to admit you're having fun every once in a while…" She and Riko exchanged glances and smiled helplessly, letting out a small shriek when the volleyball strayed from the game for not the first time.

"Can I join you?" Kuroko's mild voice inquired suddenly from behind them, and Momoi looked over her shoulder in delight.

"Tetsu-kun!" she cheered, "Of course!" He settled down into the space between her and Aomine, sipping at a soft drink. "Could you rub sunscreen on my back please?" Polite as ever, Kuroko took the bottle from her, and seemed completely oblivious to the somewhat jealous looks that his teammates were flinging him.

* * *

"Phew! I'm exhausted now!" Takao declared as he slumped down into the sand and closed his eyes blissfully.

"…Where's Otsubo?" Midorima inquired flatly as he looked up from his book from the shade of an umbrella.

"Hmm? Oh…Koganei and Mitobe are digging him up," he chuckled innocently, as he rolled over to look up at his shirtless boyfriend. "Coming for a swim later, Shin-chan?"

"Not likely."

"But we're at the beach!"

"…I fail to see your point. I can appreciate the ocean just fine from here." Takao rested his head on his folded arms and rolled his eyes –knowing that if Midorima just got down to water, he'd enjoy himself. It was getting him to stop being so stubborn that was the problem. He suddenly yelped in surprise as someone bodily _sat_ on his back and pushed him deeper into the sand.

"Keep him there, Kise," Midorima advised haughtily, and Takao struggled with a laugh.

"Oi, Kise!" he chuckled; bucking up and sending the blonde flying over into the sand. "I thought you were playing volleyball?"

"I keep winning so they kicked me off," Kise laughed lightly, "And I thought Midorimacchi looked so lonely over here!"

"I preferred being alone."

"Oh don't be such a tsundere," Takao teased, and Midorima glared over at him, "He likes you, really," he added to Kise.

"I disagree."

"Midorimacchi, I'm hurt!" Kise wailed teasingly, kicking back and lying in the sand with his eyes shut happily. "Ahh this sun is so great! We should do this more often!" Midorima glanced up from his book as he heard a complaint from Wakamatsu as he promptly missed an easy shot. Green eyes followed the ball as it rolled over to the sandcastles, where Wakamatsu and Kagami suddenly seemed to strike up conversation. He chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny, Shin-chan?" Takao inquired curiously, still looking up at his boyfriend.

"Nothing."

"Didn't sound like nothing," Kise pointed out cheekily as Midorima spied Kagami and Wakamatsu calling over Kasamatsu and Kaijo's point guard suddenly looking unusually gleeful. Kasamatsu looked over and caught Midorima's gaze, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the ocean, and the shooting guard had no problem with nodding his consent.

"Oh…I was just wondering…" Midorima commented casually as he looked down at his book again, "Takao, was Otsubo displeased that you didn't unbury him?"

"Furious," Takao sniggered, "It was _hilarious_!"

"Must have been."

"Why do you ask –" Suddenly Takao let out a wild yelp as something yanked on his feet and he suddenly found himself being dragged unceremoniously through the sand by his ankles. He twisted in shock and discovered that his extraordinarily sand-coated captain was casually tugging him down towards the water with murderous intent in his eyes.

"No!" Takao exclaimed, only to find himself lifted from the ground as Kimura grabbed his elbows and began running him down to the ocean –Takao crowing out cries for mercy the whole way. Midorima actually started laughing –with Kise joining in with delight…until he too was yanked up by his armpits by Miyaji, with Moriyama grabbing the blonde's ankles and racing him down to the water.

"No! Let me go!" Kise exclaimed, "Kasamatsu-senpai! Help me! Don't let them do this to me!" Kasamatsu just grinned at him and waved to him cheerfully as Kise was transported like some kind of rag doll down to the ocean and unceremoniously thrown in after Takao.

"Ahh, it's a good day," Kasamatsu breathed with a stretch as they all burst out laughing –catching sight of two very sodden, pouting mischief-makers resurfacing after their dunking.

"Ugh…what's going on?" Aomine yawned disinterestedly, rubbing his eyes as he heard the crows of laughter accompanying Kise and Takao's horrified cursing.

"Nothing, Aomine-kun," Kuroko commented innocently as he saw Wakamatsu press a finger to his lips as he and Kagami tentatively approached Aomine's contentedly sunbathing form from opposite directions.

"Tch…Kise always was too loud…" he grumbled irritably –and then all of a sudden, his eyes bolted open in shock as his towel was grabbed at both ends and hoisted into the air –him going with it. Like being trapped in some kind of hammock, he found himself swinging in mid-air, with the familiar guffawing of Wakamatsu and gleeful laughter of Kagami informing him of who to blame for this.

"Oi! Put me down, you bastards!" he yowled aggressively, knowing _exactly_ where he was being carried and not in the least bit happy about it. "Bakagami!" He just heard cackling laughter –as though this was the funniest joke ever, so he twisted violently and managed to topple out of his towel prison and onto the sand.

No sooner was he free than he angrily lunged after Kagami, who was closest. The redhead was helpless with laughter but still managed to escape from him, at least for a few seconds. Wakamatsu just staggered back to the rest of the group amid a chorus of laughter.

"Run, Kagami! He's right behind you!"

"Catch him, Aomine!"

But Kagami was too breathless from laughing to keep up his sprint for too long, so when Aomine tackled him around the waist and forced him to the ground, he let himself fall –trying to regain his breath as they tumbled down into the sand.

"You…should've seen the _look_ on your face!" Kagami chortled teasingly, clamping his hands over his face as Aomine hovered over him to pin him to the ground, eyes glinting as a predator's might when faced with especially delectable prey. And like a predator, he moved on instinct. "Oh my god…That was fucking _hilarious_!" Suddenly, Kagami felt his hands yanked away from his face and pressed firmly into the sand as Aomine crashed his lips down on his in a searing kiss.

Kagami's laugh died in his throat and his eyes fluttered shut as a tongue forcefully snaked into his mouth and demandingly ran across his –silencing him most effectively. He let out a soft noise as Aomine twisted his head to deepen the kiss; hands gripping his wrists tight and lips hungrily devouring his own. The tongue inside his mouth rolled across his own in hot, thick strokes, delving deep and seeking to dominate him completely.

And there was something kinda…_hot_…about that.

But Kagami was no pushover.

He let out a low moan, lips pressing back with almost bruising force. Aomine's eyes snapped open at the sudden ferocity of the kiss and Kagami smirked, his eyelids fluttering open smugly as he tugged one hand free of the other ace's grip and cupped his tanned neck. Like he'd done at the Christmas party, he slowed it down; lips massaging against Aomine's in long sensual movements –almost lazily, though still with that burning, arousing hunger.

"Mmm…Ah…" Aomine moaned into his mouth, control wavering as he let Kagami drag him down; the hot skin of their chests meeting oh-so-lightly. One of his hands gripped the sand as his breath started escaping from him. He could feel Kagami's hand on his neck loosely sliding up to grip his hair. And then the bastard pulled back, tongue flicking against Aomine's top lip teasingly before trailing back between swollen lips.

"You're gonna pay for that, Bakagami," Aomine growled crossly, though he wasn't entirely sure if he was referring to Kagami's attempt to throw him in the sea, or for trying to dominate him.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Kagami mocked, biting his lip to keep from bursting out laughing again at how there was sand stuck to Aomine's skin and hair. He just swatted at the bluenette's face and ignored his own suddenly flaming cheeks, rolling violently to free himself. Managing to break away, he surveyed Aomine swivelling to face him, both poised on all fours to break into a sprint at any second.

Kagami couldn't help but laugh again as he fought to regain the breath that Aomine's lips had stolen away. The other ace was watching him with the same intensity that he wore when they were going one-on-one, but his mouth was curled in a grin that made his impending death seem kind of worth it.

"Run, Kagamicchi!" Kise yelped in the distance, and Kagami bolted for the ocean, Aomine hot on his tail a split second later. Their friends erupted into cheers and roars of encouragement for both of them as Kagami hit the water running; Aomine tackling him into the waves as soon as he caught up.

They both resurfaced with a gasp, Kagami and the nearby Takao and Kise duo all bursting out laughing at the mutinously unimpressed Aomine, who had discovered too late that despite escaping being thrown into the surf, he had been lured out there anyways.

"Lighten up, Ahomine," Kagami teased, splashing away the glare on his face.

" –Guys, guys, there are _children_ around," Takao scolded in a mockingly serious voice. Kagami flushed bright red, suddenly realising what had happened and kind of wanting to plunge his head underwater in embarrassment. Instead, he decided to dive after the cackling point guard. Aomine just scoffed and cursed violently as a large wave buffeted him off his feet.

Regaining his feet, he ran a hand back through his drenched hair as he watched Kagami blundering through the water like some flat-footed giant, with Takao cheekily dancing out of reach. He laughed as Kagami promptly tripped and clumsily fell face-first into the water with a curse and an almighty splash.

Hearing that rare laughter, Kagami looked back over his shoulder as he spat out a mouthful of seawater and couldn't help but grin back at Aomine sheepishly as the bluenette gave him a smirk laced with a smile.

Kise and Takao, who were standing there in the shallows with their hands on their hips, just exchanged glances and burst out sniggering as they started jogging back up to the sandcastle builders with Aomine and Kagami slowly following after them.

"Is that a smile I see, _Ahomine_?" Kagami remarked teasingly, slinging an arm around the other ace's shoulder and jabbing him in the gut with a finger.

"Tch, you're dreaming, idiot," Aomine snorted, looking away and feigning disinterest –but not fooling anyone for a moment.

"Does Kaga-chin taste good?" Murasakibara commented curiously as the pair of them passed by; Takao and Kise rather suspiciously whispering all sorts of devious things in Sakurai's ears.

"Hah?" Aomine remarked with an obnoxious yawn.

"He must do. You were eating his face," the purple-haired giant deadpanned and Himuro physically snorted uncharacteristically in amusement and clamped a hand over his mouth as Kagami promptly turned the colour of his hair and looked away. Aomine caught Himuro looking at the redhead, and, snorting hot air, leaned over and softly nipped at his bared throat –an action that had Kagami letting out a soft keening noise –much to his mortification.

"Yeah, he does," the bluenette confirmed darkly, glancing down at Himuro with narrowed eyes.

Himuro had considered informing a very obviously jealous Aomine that he had no interest in Taiga, because he saw him as a younger brother…but this was absolutely far too amusing to put a stop to just yet. Taiga probably wouldn't thank him…but since he apparently hadn't noticed how Aomine acted whenever Himuro was around, he didn't need to know.

"…What are you two up to?" Riko suddenly inquired suspiciously –having come over to see what terrible things Kise and Takao were suggesting to the increasingly flustered Sakurai. "Oh, Kagami-kun. Aomine –I think your…_antics_…attracted some…attention…" She nodded down the beach a little way, where that camera crew from earlier was making its way along the sand, but were casting a scheming eye in the direction of the pair of them.

"Oh nothing, nothing," Takao assured her lightly, "Say Riko…I have an idea that you might be interested in…"

* * *

"Ssh! Kise, you'll give us away!" Riko hissed warningly and Kise crammed the back of his hand into his mouth to stifle his chuckles as they slowly staggered their way back to their group lugging buckets of seawater with them.

Hyuga and Kasamatsu were relaxing rather contentedly on the sand; towels over their faces to keep them from getting burned. A few metres away from them, rested Imayoshi and Midorima, who were perfectly happy with napping in the shade.

Their blissful rest was about to be rudely interrupted.

"Go!" Kise yelled, and suddenly, there were three very drenched, very shocked captains leaping to their feet and a thoroughly unimpressed shooting guard glaring over his shoulder.

"Kise, you're dead!" Kasamatsu growled, springing up and tripping on his drenched towel as he shot after a mischievous Kise.

"Okay, get back here!" Imayoshi snapped, lurching out of his deck chair and spinning around to see an utterly terrified, but trying-not-to-laugh Sakurai jetting away, spouting apologies but still sounding kind of pleased with himself. Deciding that a drenching was a drenching –even if not by Wakamatsu, Imayoshi darted off in pursuit. Sakurai tore across the sand –almost falling into the hole that Otsubo had been buried in. Imayoshi _did_ fall into it, but didn't let that stall him for long as he chased Sakurai down to the water.

"Izuk –" Hyuga growled crossly –assuming it was his point guard –but Izuki was sitting nearby chatting with Momoi and Kuroko. He looked over and his mouth fell open as he spied Riko standing there with the empty bucket and a look of glee on her face at having been included in the boys' mischief.

"Bye, Hyuga-kun!" she giggled, dropping the bucket into the sand and running off after the boys. He just stared for a moment as she glanced back over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him.

Coach or not, she was getting thrown in the ocean.

He raced after her; Riko letting out a cry as he scooped her up and carried her, still running, straight into the surf –throwing her out into the ocean. She surfaced with a laugh, high-fiving Kise and splashing Hyuga and Imayoshi.

"Come play, Shin-chan," Takao suggested to his thoroughly soggy boyfriend. Midorima just folded his arms and blinked back at him stubbornly.

"No."

"I thought you might say that," the point guard admitted innocently, and suddenly, he was re-drenched with another bucket, and another and then one final torrent of about three buckets of seawater as their teammates, Kagami and Aomine took great delight in soaking the shooting guard all over again.

Midorima slowly spat out a mouthful of salty water and glared up at Takao, who had both eyebrows raised expectantly.

"…Fine." Resigned to his fate of having to enter the water, Midorima stood, pulled off his glasses and placed them neatly with his things. No sooner had he done so, than Takao had grabbed his arm and was yanking him down towards the sea where it seemed that a full-on water fight was taking place.

Their whole group, deciding that that looked like far too much fun to miss out on, all jumped up and started jogging down to the water to join in. Momoi and Riko found themselves hoisted up on Imayoshi and Hyuga's shoulders –cheering on the others from the air as the boys they were sitting on tried to dunk each other under.

* * *

"Hey! Look, they're having races over there!" Koganei exclaimed in delight as he saw people in fluoro vests beginning to set up flags and a banner being rolled out advertising an event. A few of the group –drying off from their exhausting war in the water –looked up in interest.

"Sounds fun," Kagami remarked excitedly –apparently his weariness fading away at the mention of a competition. "Tatsuya, wanna go check it out?"

"Sure," Himuro chuckled, accepting the hand offered to him to help him to his feet. In the end, quite a few of them wandered down the beach to find out what was happening. As they approached, it became obvious that it was a locally run event to advertise the opening of that new hotel. It was this that the camera crew had been milling around; waiting for.

There was also a large sign advertising the "Biggest Splash" competition on the wharf later in the afternoon.

The banner said that there was no need to register –they just had to find a partner and show up. There were heaps of people milling around already and the starting line was incredibly long –obviously they were expecting quite a crowd.

"Ahomine?" Kagami inquired curiously, but Aomine was already lounging over on a towel with Momoi, who had her camera out in preparation for photos. With a shrug and rolling his eyes at Aomine being too cool for such childish games, he glanced over at Himuro, who nodded with a small smile.

"Momoi, Momoi!" Takao chuckled –already knowing that Midorima would _not_ be participating in this event, no matter how much water they threw at him. He'd settled with stealing his boyfriend's glasses. "Take a picture of me!" He struck a pose and the camera clicked as Momoi giggled.

"…I need those to see, Takao…" Midorima deadpanned, and Takao danced back into his fuzzy range of vision, the frames delicately balanced on the end of his nose.

"…Do I suit them, Shin-chan?" he remarked with a smirk as tilted the glasses down and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he looked up at his boyfriend smugly. Midorima paused for a moment and swallowed audibly.

"…I believe I need to go back to the lodge for something," he commented flatly, after a moment of pondering.

"What for, Midorin?" Momoi remarked in interest.

"…Sunscreen."

"You can borrow some of mine," she chirped up helpfully.

"…My one is special and I have to go get it," Midorima insisted, subtly tugging on Takao's wrist as Aomine quirked an eyebrow suspiciously. "…Come, Takao."

"But I was going to do the three legged race with –"

"You seem to have mistaken that for a suggestion." Takao, still wearing Midorima's glasses, gave him a very confused look, but then saw the expression his boyfriend was wearing.

"Oh," he commented slyly, pushing the glasses up further on his nose in understanding and his grin growing wide, "Oh, Shin-chan, I never knew…"

"Never knew what? We're getting sunscreen," Midorima sniffed flatly, but Takao quit his protesting and went with his boyfriend, who tugged the glasses off him so that he could actually find his way back to the lodge. Takao just winked at Aomine and Momoi as they passed; Midorima's cheeks turning pink.

"Not our room!" Kise hollered brightly.

"Kise!" Midorima snapped hotly and facepalmed in embarrassment.

"Maybe I should start wearing your glasses more often, Shin-chan."

* * *

"Holy crap! You guys are doing awesome!" Wakamatsu exclaimed as he tugged a wide-eyed Sakurai over for the piggyback race –passing Kagami and Himuro who had just gotten placed for the third time. Kagami punched the air triumphantly –laughing as Kise and Kasamatsu staggered over the finish line –Kasamatsu looking thoroughly displeased at having been carried like a bride. The camera clicked as Momoi laughed, and Kasamatsu promptly squirmed until Kise dropped him to run over and beg her to delete the picture.

"Hey, Furihata and Sakurai were being carried sacks of potatoes," Koganei pointed out to him. Imayoshi and Hyuga had taken their supposedly friendly competitions to the next level and had involved their juniors. The race just finished had the specification that one of the pair had to be carried by the other. Poor Furihata and Sakurai had wound up as their unfortunate partners. Furihata was currently giving Sakurai a rather sympathetic look as Wakamatsu hoisted him onto his back for the next one.

"Muro-chin…Carry me. I wanna race," Murasakibara commented with a popsicle in his mouth.

" –Atsushi, there's no way I can carry you," Himuro sighed apologetically. Murasakibara just chomped on the stick in his mouth sulkily.

"I reckon I could do it," Kiyoshi mused conversationally, rubbing his chin and looking at the giant as though trying to talk himself into it. Himuro's eyebrows shot up into his hair and Murasakibara turned to look at Kiyoshi with a pout. The inner conflict was visible in his eyes. He didn't particularly like Kiyoshi…but he wanted to race. The winners got sweets.

It was an incredibly comedic line-up to say the least.

Kiyoshi was standing there with Murasakibara's long limbs dangling around his neck and waist and doing his best to make it look effortless. Wakamatsu, to try and even things up, had traded in Sakurai and had Imayoshi on his back. Kagami got stuck with Hyuga.

"Wakamatsu's faster," Imayoshi reminded Hyuga as they waited for the starting gun.

"Yeah, but you're fatter," he sniffed back childishly.

" –Hey –" Kagami complained; offended.

"Beat him, Kagami," Hyuga patted his shoulder reassuringly.

The starting gun sounded with a bang, and the contestants shot off –well, staggered ungainly. Their friends burst out laughing at how ridiculous they looked –those racing struggling to take the whole thing seriously with how hilarious Kiyoshi looked with Murasakibara holding out a popsicle stick like a sword as though the centre was his horse and he was charging into battle. That _definitely_ got the attention of the cameras, and the event organisers were helpless with laughter.

Kiyoshi and Murasakibara –having apparently amused their competition to the point of many of them having to stop to laugh –managed to cross the finish line first –Kiyoshi face-planting in the sand and Murasakibara going flying over his head and managing to avoid crashing into anything. The crowd cheered as Kiyoshi rolled to avoid being ploughed over by both Kagami and Wakamatsu, who came charging in after them, being egged on by their riders.

"Atsushi…" Himuro scolded with a chuckle as Murasakibara wandered back over with a box of sweets held triumphantly in the air. He gave the other Yosen ace a pointed look. Murasakibara pouted, but opened the box and held out two of the candies to Kiyoshi.

"Thanks," he panted with a bright grin, sand sticking to his sweaty skin. Himuro gave him a grateful look as Kagami staggered over to where their friends were sitting, watching the proceedings with a great deal of glee.

"Ugh…" Kagami groaned, rubbing his head where Hyuga had been pulling at his hair in an effort to make him go faster.

"Getting slow, Bakagami," Aomine chuckled as Kagami limply collapsed on his stomach across Aomine's knees, "Oi!"

" –Give me a break," he grumbled flatly as Aomine rolled his eyes and leaned back to make himself more comfortable with the redhead sprawled across his knees. "Hyuga's fucking heavy…"

"Hey, I heard that!" Hyuga snapped hotly.

"Bet Imayoshi's heavier," Wakamatsu muttered, tapping out as well and lying down in the sand beside Sakurai.

"Smile!" Momoi exclaimed suddenly, and Kagami and Aomine barely had enough to glance up as she snapped a picture of the pair of them. Kagami quickly scrambled back into a sitting position but she just waggled a finger at him to tell him that she was definitely not deleting that.

"Come on, let's have a nice one!" she giggled, crouching down and shuffling a bit closer. Kagami and Aomine deadpanned in annoyance at having a camera shoved at them.

_Click. _

"Satsuki, you're being annoying…"

"Just one nice one, Aomine-kun," she scolded. "Your mother made me promise to get one nice photo of you this trip!" Aomine rolled his eyes flatly but softened his expression –just slightly. He still looked bored.

_Click_.

"Aomine, that doesn't count," she sighed.

"Come on," Kagami snorted, elbowing him in the ribs playfully, "We can do one nice goddamn picture –"

_Click_. Momoi giggled at the picture of the pair of them glancing at each other and raised the camera to eye-level again as Kagami turned to offer the camera what he hoped was a passable smile considering he was in the same frame as Aomine. She kept the camera clicking as he seemed to notice that Aomine was disinterestedly gazing off into the distance, and scolded him. With a wicked glance at the camera as Kagami crossly jammed his face into his personal space, Aomine grabbed the redhead's chin and crashed an open-mouthed kiss against his lips.

Still leering down the camera as Momoi gasped (but continued taking pictures), Aomine grabbed Kagami's face with both hands so that he couldn't pull back and visibly let his tongue slick into his mouth. Her mouth fell open, just _knowing_ that that picture was going to detail that rather well.

As Kagami kissed back, shock fading, Aomine tugged him closer by his hair and with his free hand, batted away the camera; lips roughly working at the other ace's in long, hungry movements. Kagami pressed forwards; finding the heat of Aomine strangely intoxicating and wanting him closer. At the shift, he felt the bluenette smirk against his lips and he kissed back a little harder –wanting to make sure that he was wearing a smile when he pulled back.

Suddenly, he wrenched back with a start as something cold and sticky dripped down his back –Aomine mimicking the motion. They leapt apart and turned to glare at a very smug Murasakibara, who was holding two dripping popsicles aloft rather pointedly.

"What was that for?" Aomine growled crossly.

" –Muro-chin said you two needed to cool off." Aomine's expression darkened dramatically as he glared over at Himuro, who just waved lightly.

"…Can I see the photos you…took of the races?" Riko inquired in a slightly shaky voice from somewhere behind them.

"Yes, I think I too, would like to see those photos," Kise remarked lightly.

"Maybe just bring the camera over, Momoi-san…" Kuroko coughed, and Momoi nodded mutely as she slowly got to her feet, her eyes wide at what she'd just witnessed. Kagami huffed in annoyance that there was now currently melted popsicle on his back.

"Tatsuya…popsicles, really?" he complained loudly as he glared over at his brother.

" –There are children around," Himuro reminded him teasingly and Kagami flushed again as he shuffled over as Himuro offered to accompany him down to the ocean to wash it off. Aomine saw them go and gritted his teeth crossly, folding his arms huffily.

Tch. _That guy_. Dammit. Himuro always seemed to be able to get Kagami's fucking attention so damn easily! He scowled and brushed his lips with a thumb as he mused mutinously over being left there and _ignored_.

He sighed and slumped down in the sand, not giving a shit that it was going to stick there.

Okay, so he'd finally had to admit to himself that some of the time he kissed Kagami because he knew that for that small span of time, _he_ –not Himuro –would have his absolute, undivided attention. In Aomine's mind, Kagami effectively choosing Himuro over him was pretty much labelling him as second best. He didn't do _second_, and he wasn't too good at sharing. Sure, Kagami was just a _pretend _boyfriend, but he was _his_ pretend boyfriend.

But getting (and keeping) his attention wasn't the sole reason why he kept kissing him –and that kinda pissed him off, because that other reason currently eluded him.

The actual kissing part wasn't the problem. That was them being natural –because what was more natural to them than basketball, and he and Kagami kissed how they played basketball –intense, fierce and passionate…because this was all just another game on a bigger stage –with a bigger audience cheering from their seats. This wasn't real; they were still just opponents, locked in another of their one-on-ones; without restraint, filled with fire and completely focused on each other.

He had the feeling that they both understood that.

So the kissing, that didn't matter. Even the rush he felt when their lips were locked together was practically the same as the one he felt when they went head to head on the court.

But his reasons for kissing Kagami when he did –aside from the whole Himuro aspect of things –he honest to god didn't know. Maybe it was some weird instinct? He barely thought about it. His body would just move on its own, moving on impulse when Kagami was close or was wearing certain looks, or just…_because_.

Like that kiss on camera just then; what the hell? Kagami had been annoying him, and suddenly he'd just sort of acted –just rolled with it, as Takao had said to. Reason, already flung to wind with his decision to go with his gut, probably wouldn't have helped him anyway, since the thought of "kiss him" hadn't even crossed his mind. It hadn't involved conscious thought on his part, except maybe 'this is really gonna embarrass Bakagami'.

It was automatic –like a reflex. No…actually, it was more than that; more like getting caught up in the moment and having no control over his actions.

It was like he just couldn't help himself.

Ugh, this whole thinking things through was exhausting. Exhausting and it made his head spin in annoyance and confusion. Back to _doing_ and not thinking –at least until today was over.

* * *

"This is a very, very bad idea."

"What are you talking about?" Kiyoshi remarked quizzically, "This is a great idea!"

"…Kiyoshi…you let Imayoshi and Hyuga have large sticks," Riko remarked with a wince, "Izuki, tell him!"

"Definitely a _bat_ idea," Izuki remarked with a straight face, and the majority of their friends burst out laughing with Hyuga being the only one to tell him to just shut it.

Kiyoshi, it appeared, had decided to ask Kimura and Miyaji to bring along some watermelons. As he laid out clean towels on the sand –they'd all been back to the lodge for a late lunch and hence gotten new, dry, clean towels –it had become apparent what he intended.

"I don't know…" Wakamatsu was looking rather apprehensive, "…Seems like they're going to be more interested in hitting each other than the fruit…"

"Someone might get hurt…" Riko admitted.

"That would make me really _melon_choly," Izuki piped up.

"Izuki!" Hyuga groaned.

"His jokes are berry good," Imayoshi commented –just to piss him off.

"Don't even start," Seirin's captain complained as Izuki grinned at someone getting on board with his jokes.

Currently, there were two towels, each with a watermelon perched on them, spaced a very reasonable distance apart. Hyuga and Imayoshi were blindfolded and spun –and their respective teams were going to attempt to guide them towards the fruit, which they would then split open with the large sticks that each of the captains were holding. Shutoku and Kaijo were taking the next turn –though theirs was going to be less of a grudge match, it seemed.

"Go!" Kiyoshi exclaimed, and the two disorientated captains staggered forwards, holding their 'weapons' at arms' length. Seirin and Touou quickly began trying to draw them towards their watermelons whilst also keeping them away from each other.

"Hit it! Hit it!" Koganei exclaimed as Hyuga stood over their one hesitantly. He raised his stick and brought it crashing down on the watermelon –splitting it open and sending juice flying. In triumph, he tore off his blindfold as Imayoshi managed to locate his melon as well. Of course, neither of them could resist tossing some of the juicy flesh at each other.

"This is awesome!" Kagami exclaimed appreciatively as Kiyoshi headed to set up two more melons. A local newspaper in the area for the hotel opening was investigating some of the activities of the beach-goers, and apparently this was proving most intriguing –they were taking photos and even asking some of them questions about other things they'd been doing throughout the day.

The redhead had managed to swipe a large piece and was guzzling it with great gusto. It went so well with the hot day. Juice ran down his chin as he quirked an eyebrow over to where Aomine was lolling nearby and pretending to be bored. With a snigger, Kagami spat a mouthful of seeds at him –earning him a glare.

"What's the big idea?" Aomine grumbled flatly. Kagami shrugged childishly and took another bite –only to repeat his assault with the seeds. "Oi!" the bluenette complained and then snickered at him as he sat up. "You've got food all over your face, slob." Kagami's response was to throw a handful of watermelon at him, hitting in the side of the face with a satisfying slopping noise.

"Gross…" Aomine scoffed, getting to his feet and trying to flick the juice off as it ran down his chest. He tugged the fruit off his face and obligingly dumped it on Kagami's head. The redhead's eyes lit up crossly –annoyed that his head was now incredibly sticky.

That of course, led to more watermelon being thrown than eaten –by all of them.

"It's interesting," Kuroko remarked conversationally to Momoi as they sipped on their sodas as they watched the madness go down. She looked at him rather curiously and he nodded over to where Kagami and Aomine where throwing fruit at each other –probably a little harder than necessary. "…Usually it's Aomine-kun that provokes Kagami-kun."

"You're right," she admitted in realisation, "It's almost like Kagamin _wants_ Aomine-kun to be chasing him, right?" Kuroko nodded again and they both chuckled as they watched Aomine briefly –just briefly –grin over at Kagami before ducking behind a chair to avoid being hit again. "…And Tetsu-kun…you've noticed too, haven't you?"

"I have," he admitted with a small smile, "…It's like we're getting the old Aomine-kun back."

"He seems so happy," she murmured in wonder. These past weeks, she'd seen it –seen the light in his eyes and heard the grin in his voice. He even laughed. Even when he pretended to be mad, or bored, or annoyed, there just seemed to be something about him that was…different. And now –he was on the sand, just joining in with their friends (albeit pretending to be disgruntled about it). It was so unlike him, and yet so like him at the same time –so like the carefree Aomine he used to be.

Aomine groaned and slumped down in the nearest deck chair. His limbs were so sticky and covered in fruit and sand –but he was physically having to put in effort to ensure that no one saw him grinning. He was pretty pleased that he'd managed to smoosh a decent amount of watermelon into Wakamatsu's hair.

"Tired already?" Kagami mocked, wandering over to him ever-so-innocently.

"Tch, I'm bored," Aomine lied smoothly, but the redhead just smirked knowingly and couldn't help but lick his lips slightly as he stared at the other ace's handsome tanned face –practically dripping with watermelon juice.

He wondered if he tasted sweet right now.

Distracted by such a thought, he didn't realise that Aomine had stood, and was currently chest to chest with him, lidded eyes rather smug as he reached behind Kagami's back and tugged at his concealed hand that had been loaded with a fist of fruit.

"You really think you're going to beat me with dirty tricks?" he sneered.

Kagami thought back to the basketball game they'd had yesterday and decided that _yes_, he was. Before his mind could catch up with his body, he leaned forwards and closed the gap between them; lips demandingly attaching to Aomine's, tongue flicking out teasingly –just to taste the watermelon on him.

Aomine, a little stunned, just blinked in surprise, but smirked as he pressed back –only to suddenly find a handful of fruit mashed into his hair, and Kagami pulling back with a wicked grin. His eyes narrowed crossly at his own cheap trick being used against him as the redhead waved back at him mockingly.

"…Are they _flirting_?" Riko remarked incredulously as she sheltered behind Kiyoshi and discovered that Takao had had the same idea. For some reason that he did not wish to disclose but everyone pestered him about (despite knowing full well the cause), he wasn't quite as agile on his feet this afternoon.

"…If you mean flirting in the sense of how if a little boy likes a girl he'll pull her hair and call her stupid…then yeah," he replied flatly, vacantly licking his fingers clean of watermelon juice. "Kiyoshi…just stay _right there_…"

"Why –" Kiyoshi began to say, just before a glob of watermelon came flying an incredible distance and landed on his head as Midorima proved that it wasn't just basketballs he could throw with shocking accuracy.

"Missed me, Shin-chan!" Takao taunted, sticking his head out from behind Seirin's centre –only to wind up with a face full of fruit, since Midorima had anticipated his boyfriend's taunt and had already sent a second handful flying. Takao blinked the fruit from his eyes in an unimpressed deadpan as Midorima rested his chin in one hand with a small smile, and held up a juice-covered hand to accept a high-five from Kasamatsu. The pair of them appeared to share the belief that Kise and Takao were getting on a little too well. Despite now being further covered in fruit, Takao couldn't help but soften his expression at the sight of his Shin-chan smiling –in the company of others, no less!

"Look at them," Takao chuckled as they continued sheltering behind Kiyoshi as fruit kept flying and Aomine and Kagami kept up their arguing –Kagami with an arm wrapped around Aomine's torso to hold him in place while he mashed melon into his hair. The bluenette was glaring at him mutinously –but everyone could see the smile in his eyes. "Anyone would have to be _fucking stupid_ to _not_ believe that they were together after today." He chuckled incredulously and sighed with relief as Momoi called a ceasefire to get a group photo.

Riko looked over at Takao with a wince as Kuroko, passing by with Momoi and Kise, overheard his comment, and added flatly, "Takao-kun…I think you're forgetting who you're talking about…"

* * *

**Hope you liked the beach antics! (For some reason while planning and writing this chapter, I couldn't stop singing/listening to All Summer Long" by Kid Rock. It makes for a good montage song). I just love writing everyone having fun together, and Takao and Kise being little minxes... **

**Hope you liked, and hope you like the next chapter too!  
xx K**


	12. Chapter 12

**Part two of what was meant to be a long chapter but wound up being two -both of which wound up being longer than I had anticipated. Hope you're okay with that! Read on, my loves, and maybe be surprised... **

* * *

Kagami slumped down into the bath and looked up at the roof crossly. This was ridiculous. Just _how_ had he managed to wind up in _this_ situation?

It was probably Ahomine's fault.

The Biggest Splash competition on the wharf was a big thing. Heaps of people were gathered –people were dressed up and all that jazz. A couple of the guys had been recognised by various photographers, reporters and event organisers, so somehow, their whole group had wound up being allowed to jump off at the same time for a joyous photo opportunity.

Of course, a lot of them had tried to get the biggest splash in the singles category –Murasakibara had won that one and gotten another box of sweets, to his great delight. There had been some pretty impressive (and also some unimpressive) flips, and a few cringeworthy belly-flops –Kiyoshi's by far the most magnificent, with his chest slapping the water so hard that it turned as red as his sunburnt back.

But they'd all looked forwards to jumping off together –they were a pretty impressive group, to be fair. So that it would have a nice colour scheme for the photos, Kagami had been placed in the centre of the line with the other members of the Generation of Miracles (Akashi was probably not going to appreciate being replaced if he saw the picture). On three, they'd all leapt off the wharf –Kagami of course sailing higher than all the rest before plummeting down into the cold water as the whole group of them sent up an almighty splash.

And then, when he'd broken the surface…Aomine had kissed him again.

He didn't know why he was surprised these days. It wasn't like he really minded.

It was another kiss like their usual ones; wild and undeniably hot, and Kagami, slowly losing breath and heat surging through his system, was forced to admit that being close to him felt good. He hadn't _meant_ to kiss him back –because though he was okay with doing that in public, he really didn't want another repeat of what happened that one time on TV.

Unfortunately, Aomine's lips had a way of shattering his resolve.

When finally someone (he wasn't sure who, but suspected Imayoshi) broke them apart by dunking them both underwater, he became rather aware that there were catcalls coming from the wharf and that he and Aomine had made another spectacle of themselves.

That was what they were kind of supposed to be doing, sure, but it was still _embarrassing_.

And apparently that had attracted quite a rather large amount of attention, because as the pair of them wandered down the boardwalk eating ice cream (and therefore both complaining about how overly-cliché they were being), they were ambushed by a couple of reporters. Or, more likely, gossip columnists.

They'd asked if they could have an interview then wouldn't take no for an answer. The pair of them were rocking the basketball world, apparently –two teenagers telling prejudice and homophobia to go suck it –in a manner of speaking.

How had they met –the reporters had asked.

_Basketball_, Aomine and Kagami had deadpanned almost instantly.

What had attracted them to each other –was the follow-up question.

_His basketball_, they said again.

Had either of them been openly homosexual before their relationship had gained public interest?

_No_, was their response.

The rest of the interview had run quite similar, though the reporters didn't seem downhearted in the slightest.

You _must_ come to the hotel opening tonight, they had said. Kagami had declined for the both of them, just _knowing_ that Aomine was going to chip in a 'That sounds boring as fuck' or other such eloquent phrase. But again, the reporters had insisted, going so far as to say that all their food would be paid for –and they again, weren't taking no for an answer.

Their reservation was at eight-thirty, and Kagami was thoroughly unimpressed –despite the lure of free food. Yeah, this was Aomine's fault for kissing him like that.

…No, it wasn't. He wasn't without blame…He could've stopped him –could've pulled back or dunked him underwater or something, but he didn't. He didn't, because something about kissing Aomine affected his body in such a way that…he couldn't bring himself to stop it.

It was bad. It was bad because, as much as he was loath to admit it, he was forced to consider the very real possibility that he was physically attracted to Aomine Daiki.

He'd thought that he wanted to kiss him because that made him smile –because Aomine's smiles were…nice. But the more kisses they shared, the more Kagami came to understand that he was indulging _himself_. He was behaving like a child wanting attention –trying to goad Aomine and bring him close; tempting him to kiss him –not that he would _ever_ admit that, because that was damn embarrassing.

As Kagami lay soaking in the bath, he tried to reason with himself –tried to explain why his body seemed to really quite like Aomine's body.

His, well…first remotely sexual experience had been with another guy –grinding against him. His sensitive body had reacted –hell, he'd been hard –so, he mused, his body was almost _conditioned _to react to him.

After all, one-off events could cause aversion. He'd been bitten by a dog and now he was terrified of dogs. Why couldn't it work the other way? He'd gotten aroused by Aomine once, so it made sense that when re-introduced into similar situations, his body would remember, and respond accordingly.

Hmm…Takao probably hadn't meant his advice to be interpreted as 'ignore your head and go with your primal urges' which was kind of what Kagami saw himself as doing. Now, in the privacy of his own thoughts, Kagami's head was reminding him, '_Aomine is a guy. Not just any guy –your rival_'. Earlier in the day, if he'd been listening, his head would've told him something along the lines of '_You're in public. Have a bit of modesty, Bakagami_!' But…he'd let himself go and ignored that voice; his body deciding that what he and Aomine were doing felt good; letting something that may or may not have been lust cloud his judgement.

Unfortunately, mind and body were now currently at war –head trying to tell body to get its shit sorted, and body's only response -though compelling -being 'but it feels fucking good'.

"Kagamicchi!" Kise's cry suddenly interrupted his rather frustrated thoughts and he looked over his shoulder to see Kise, Takao and Aomine approaching with towels wrapped around their waists. He scowled crossly and sank deeper into the water as they came to join him. "We heard about your big date tonight!"

"Shut up, Kise," Aomine scowled flatly, heading to the bath. Kise and Takao's eyes widened and they cursed lowly.

"We should've waited for the others," the point guard commented as Kise moved to block Aomine's path into the bath.

"Aominecchi, shall I wash your back?" he remarked cheerfully.

"Like hell."

"Then could you wash mine?"

"…Not happening," Aomine snorted as Takao looked over at the door. "Oi, what's the problem, Takao?"

"Nothing, nothing," Takao assured him, "Kuroko said he was coming in a sec with Himuro and Murasakibara. How nice of Kise to suggest we all come for a bath…"

"Now, now," Kise scoffed, "I just wanted a soak, but _you_…you really made it an event!"

"What are you two up to?" Aomine drawled flatly, quirking an eyebrow at them suspiciously as he tossed his towel onto one of the hooks and headed for the bath. Kagami made a point of closing his eyes as though he was simply relaxing. Trying to get a peek at another guy naked seemed a little _weird_ –even for them. Actually, that was another thing…

…When had being 'boyfriends' become so easy?

He'd realised as they walked down the boardwalk –Aomine pointing out chicks with particularly nice racks as they ate ice cream and held hands. It was cliché and cutesy-slash-gross and something about how comfortable it was made him thoroughly uncomfortable. He remembered that not long ago, even them holding hands was a trial, and now they were strolling along like an _actual_ couple –even if Aomine was being a bit of prick and objectifying women.

Was a fake relationship meant to be that easy?

"Here they are!" Kise yelped, Aomine's descent into the bath paused as the door opened to reveal Kuroko with Himuro and Murasakibara. "Kurokocchi…Aominecchi thinks we're _up to something_!"

"How rude," Kuroko deadpanned, "I don't know why he would think that."

"…Because you're always up to something," Kagami muttered, opening one eye slightly. He too had heard the trace of mischief in Kise and Takao's conversation, and wasn't convinced that there wasn't something going on.

"This looks much nicer than the sea…" Murasakibara commented, clambering into the bath and stretching out comfortably.

"Taiga, come sit over here?" Himuro suggested lightly as he sank into the water somewhere in the vicinity of his teammate. He looked up to see Aomine glare at him as he entered the water; being rather pestered by a quite persistent and cheerfully chirping Kise. Kagami sighed heavily as he got up from his spot and began to wade across the bath. So much for a moment of peace…

It was as Kagami made his way over to the other side of the bath that his foot hit flesh instead of skin, and heard a "Kagami-kun, you stood on my foot," in a voice that he recognised as Kuroko's. He gave a wild yell and lurched forwards –startled by both the phantom himself and the unexpected surface underfoot.

At this same time, Kise's cheerful smile changed to that signature wicked, mischievous smirk and he nodded slightly at Takao, who obligingly slouched down and, as Aomine was set off balance by Kise's apparent playful jostling, knocked his feet out from under him.

Aomine went reeling forwards into the already destabilised Kagami; chest meeting back, and the pair of them tumbled down into the bath with an almighty splash. Himuro kept his poker face in place but graced them with a secretive thumbs-up as Kagami spat out a mouthful of water.

Somehow, he'd managed to land with his chest pressed up against the tiled wall and one knee on the low seat. His arms were on the edge of the bath, with his other leg sprawled ungainly in the water.

And then he heard a moan in his ear, which brought attention to the weight currently resting against him.

…Resting _very much_ against him. Yes, that was very much Aomine, and his damp chest was currently slicked up against his back. Jesus, he could feel every goddamn muscle –and what's more, it felt straight up _hot_.

"…Mmm…" Aomine groaned again in pain -though to Kagami it sounded a lot nicer than pain; one of his knees having hit the edge of the seat when he fell. He shifted, eyes opening slowly to discover, much to his horror, that the red in the corner of his vision was hair, and that his face was currently partially buried in the crook of Kagami's neck.

Although, as he became aware of his body, he discovered that that wasn't nearly the worst part.

One of his outer thighs was against the inner of one of Kagami's. One of hands was underwater, pressed against the wall, but the other was sprawled on the edge of the bath. Yeah, he was on top of Kagami. Naked. Completely naked. His chest was flush against Kagami's rippling back. Beneath the water, his abdomen was pressed tightly against his lower back…his hips…

Holy fucking _shit_.

And then Kagami looked at him.

His mouth ran dry and he licked his lips as suddenly the air started sticking in his throat. Kagami's red eyes were lidded but still fierce –almost as if to say 'I dare you'. His breathing grew laboured, right in Kagami's ear, and he shifted slightly as a surge of heat shot through his system and straight southwards. How could Kagami slot so neatly against him? How could be feeling each and every twitch of his muscles as he panted? Why was he finding it so hard to look away from his glazed red gaze?

Meanwhile, Kagami had admitted that maybe yes, he was attracted to Aomine –at least enough for his mind to disregard the warm skin pressed against his backside, since the only conscious thought in his mind was, '_Do it. Kiss me.' _Their breaths mingled hotly; faces close –too close.

Aomine shifted again; his chest sliding against Kagami's back and his thigh accidentally slipping and forcing Kagami's legs apart a little further. Kagami's eyes closing tightly for a moment as he felt something move against him. Any closer; any harder, and there was the threat of flesh brushing up against something that no one –not even himself –had ever touched or had ever even thought of touching.

It was maybe that almost-contact –the shock, or some automatic rising panic, or maybe the choked noise from Kise that made his eyes sudden widen –the fog clearing and his mind regaining control of his senses.

He was stark naked and pinned beneath Aomine Daiki in a bath. Their bodies were practically glued together, and there was something that was definitely not Aomine's leg pressed against the seam of his ass. They were two heterosexual males in a fake homosexual relationship, and they were currently in a bath with their friends present. Oh god, their friends were there.

Aomine apparently, was also suddenly dragged back to reality, and with a wild curse, flung himself away from the wall and into the water.

Kagami had never gotten out of a bath faster.

He managed to tug his towel around his waist before Aomine even resurfaced from underwater and swallowed with a thoroughly embarrassed cough as he pointedly avoided looking _anyone_ in the eye. Kise's eyes were practically falling out of his head, Himuro had somehow managed to maintain a relatively neutral expression, and Kuroko was holding his face.

"Takao-kun…" Kuroko remarked with an awkward cough, and Takao wordlessly passed him a towel for his bleeding nose, with his free hand clamped firmly over his mouth –not sure whether to gasp or laugh. The door slammed as a flaming Kagami stalked out.

Aomine rose out of the water, neck cricking dangerously and rippling tanned shoulders hunched aggressively. His dark eyes flicked between all of the young men present, as though seeking to blame someone for what had just gone down.

"Who tripped me?" he demanded flatly, in the tone he used when he was not in the mood to be fucked with. But the five of them just sat there in silence and refused to sell each other out. Takao's eyes darted to Kise –reminding him that if one of them went down, the rest were getting dragged with them.

And then, to their god-to-honest shock, all Aomine did was leap out of the bath with an annoyed scoff and scoop up his towel. After a very tense minute as he shook the water out of his ears, he left without another word.

There was silence for a long time.

"Kise?" Takao whispered in a small voice. "Are we dead? What just happened? Why are we not dead?"

"I don't know," Kise breathed, clutching at his head to make sure that it was still attached to his body. "…Did he hit me? It doesn't _feel_ like he hit me. Did he strangle…"

"No one is dead," Murasakibara yawned languidly, "Mine-chin just walked out."

"I will say that he does a spectacular recovery," Himuro admitted, slightly impressed with the air of confidence and 'I'm not bothered' that the bluenette had managed to depart with. "…Taiga…not so much…"

"We are so dead," Kise whispered, trading a terrified look with Takao, "He _knew _we were up to something –he _knew_…"

"Maybe it was worth dying for," Takao admitted wistfully, "I wonder if Shin-chan will avenge my death…"

"You're being melodramatic," Kuroko informed them, "Aomine-kun isn't going to kill you. I think he's going to be focused more on what happened rather than why it happened." Kise and Takao breathed a visible sigh of relief and Himuro's expression softened. Unmistakeably, what he'd seen in the eyes of the aces of both Seirin and Touou was desire. From Kagami's abrupt exit, he'd seen it too –or at least felt it –and had been terrified. It was one thing for them to pretend to be together –to kiss and dance around a kind of sexual tension, but it was completely another to be faced with it head on.

"In that case," Kise remarked, "…That went far better than expected! I can't _believe_ that just happened! I just thought they'd kinda kiss or something..."

"You're so reassuring, Kuroko," Takao chuckled.

"…Then again, Aomine-kun does have a temper…" Kuroko mused, "…And you _were_ pissing him off…Kise-kun…"

"_WAHH! Don't say that, Kurokocchi!_"

* * *

"How's the food?"

"…Fine. Yours?"

"Yeah, good."

Kagami coughed awkwardly and swallowed his mouthful of food slowly, making sure he didn't have any left on his face. Across the small table, Aomine was fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat, apparently physically trying to prevent himself from slouching. Kagami shared his lack of enthusiasm.

The hotel restaurant was _fancy_. It had gleaming white silver plates, and crisp white tablecloths, and rich red carpet that he was terrified he was going to spill something on. It was softly lit and there were candles on every table –and the waiters were all in weird little suits and called him 'sir'.

He didn't like it one little bit. The food was good, certainly, but he was uncomfortably aware that he and Aomine were teenage basketball players –not upper class businessmen or lawyers or anything fancy like that. They ate takeout and burgers and wore jeans and tees. He didn't even know why Aomine had two dress shirts with him –oh, wait, apparently Momoi always insisted that he took two everywhere; one for if they were surprised with a special occasion, and a second to change into when he undoubtedly spilt something on the first.

Both of the shirts were white, and Kagami was well aware that he was not a polite eater in the best of circumstances. And sitting in what felt like a fucking ten star restaurant, surrounded by classy, rich people, with Aomine Daiki sitting across the table from him, with a certain bath incident completely playing on his mind did not equal anywhere _near_ the best of circumstances.

So he was eating very gingerly –something that probably would've amused Aomine to no end if he wasn't doing the same thing.

Their conversation had been forced. For one thing, they generally didn't _converse_ so much as _argue_ –which was okay in places with loud music, or squabbling children, or open spaces, but not suited for a restaurant where their voices would drown out the soft, atmospheric piano pieces that were being played in the corner.

Also, Kagami was a little worried that if he opened his mouth, he'd wind up saying something about what happened earlier. And that was a topic that neither of them were willing to discuss. He was a little surprised that he'd managed to convince himself to not hide in his room and refuse to leave; that had probably been the most embarrassing moment of his life to date -and there were a little too many other embarrassing moments to compete with these days. That being said, he and Aomine had gotten relatively good at pretending that things didn't happen.

He let out a sigh and slouched slightly, resting his chin in one hand as he snuck a glance across the table. Through the flickering candle, he could see Aomine gazing back at him with a bored expression and a quirked eyebrow.

Not sure why, Kagami found himself blushing as he looked away and took another mouthful of food. A passing look back at the bluenette told him that Aomine was still watching him intently, his eyes narrowed all sultry-like.

Swallowing audibly, he continued with his meal and became rather conscious that he was being watched by a piercing blue gaze.

Suddenly feeling hot, he took a deep scull of his water and tried to think of anything except Aomine naked. What had fucking come over him earlier on? One moment he was just thinking, then the next he was going to sit with Tatusya…then suddenly he was pressed up against the side of the bath with Aomine practically grinding against his ass and him not entirely protesting.

The only thing that comforted him was that his body had still reacted with a considerable amount of terror, shock and panic when…well…when Aomine had gotten anywhere close to…He flushed deeper at the thought and cursed himself.

At least it was now safe to say that his body liked him –or rather, liked Aomine's body, and liked it being close. His mind, however, was not so sure, and apparently had the final say in the matter –_much to his fucking relief_. It was no good denying to himself that he'd liked the feeling of Aomine's chest against his back and his breath against his ear –he'd already figured that much out. But he wanted to deny the rush; the adrenaline surge and the arousal he'd felt with Aomine against him –because if he could deny that, then he could forget the sensation, and it would be so much easier to pretend it didn't happen.

Unfortunately, that burning had been seared into his veins and if he thought back, he could still feel it. Blinking away the memory fiercely with another glass of water, he was suddenly reminded that one other time, he had felt like that –just briefly, under the mistletoe, at Christmas, before sober judgement had returned to him. For one, small moment, he'd imagined that what they'd been doing, they were doing naked. The memory of that thought made him splutter on his water.

Well, the bath experience was certainly going to be filed under situations they never talked about.

"This is weird," Aomine deadpanned, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Got that right," Kagami grumbled, so, so very thankful for conversation for once. It helped keep his mind off things –just as long as he didn't focus on Aomine for too long. "God, what I wouldn't give for a burger right now." Aomine chuckled in agreement.

"…Let's leave," he declared. It wasn't a question. Kagami raised an eyebrow but Aomine just nodded at the door. "This place isn't us." Kagami almost sighed with relief. At least they could agree that they were greasy fast food, sweaty tees and video games or a basketball game on TV, as opposed to this place. It made him look forward to just hanging out with Aomine when they got home; just casually. Maybe he'd even cook for him, this time…

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of Aomine pushing out his chair. Without waiting for him to follow, the bluenette began heading for the exit, Kagami hurriedly wiping his mouth and following –wondering how the hell the guy was managing to be so _normal_ after what had gone down. Then again, he was always less ruffled by such things. Kagami was almost envious of his blatant disregard for other people –he knew he was acting jumpy and that Aomine had likely noticed.

"Come on, let's go meet the others on the beach," Aomine remarked with a yawn, rolling his shoulders and tugging on his shirt so that a few buttons popped undone, before rolling up his sleeves. "Wakamatsu and all that wanted a bonfire."

* * *

It got dark very quickly, Kagami noticed, as he and Aomine kicked off their shoes and carried them along the beach, hoping to run into their friends eventually. Before long, the sun had finished sinking, and the moon and stars were out.

Aomine was sauntering along, a hand loosely in his pocket and the other holding his shoes. Kagami walked beside him –a decent arm's length or two away, as opposed to their usual elbow-to-elbow. Kagami had also undone his shirt a little; the formality of his garb feeling too unnatural and was somewhat enjoying the openness of the beach compared to that stiff restaurant.

But he didn't like this silence they were locked in. It was kind of tense –probably made that way by himself, in all fairness. Aomine seemed lost in thought, which was weird, because Aomine wasn't known for _thinking_. Well, awkwardness had to end somehow.

"…Don't hurt yourself," Kagami smirked, slinging an arm around Aomine's neck and jostling him playfully as he did so. Aomine's glazed eyes hardened crossly and glared over at him.

"Tch, speak for yourself, idiot," he growled back, elbowing him in the ribs.

"I can't believe we didn't play today," Kagami grumbled, just to get conversation flowing again, "I suppose it's for the best though –would've been embarrassing to see you cry."

"Are you really trying to claim that you would've beaten me?" Aomine remarked flatly, pride wounded and therefore defensiveness ignited.

" –So bad that you would've cried," Kagami elaborated cockily.

"Don't make me _laugh_," Aomine scoffed darkly. Kagami didn't know _how_ many times they'd been through this argument. But somehow, it never got old. "Hmm…I suppose I have time to crush you now…"

"Tch," Kagami muttered, "As much as I'd like to prove you wrong, I promised Momoi that I'd make sure you got to the bonfire. Apparently it's a great way to end a beach trip or something…"

"Ugh…she's so annoying," he grumbled, but Kagami knew he didn't really mean it. "What's so special about a bonfire…"

"All our friends are there," he rolled his eyes, "And don't pretend you don't care. You almost hugged Sakurai today when he helped you make Imayoshi fall in that hole..."

"_Almost_," Aomine reminded him flatly.

"Momoi has pictures."

"…Not soon, she won't…"

"You know, sometimes you can be as bad as Midorima," Kagami snorted with a chuckle –knowing that Aomine was definitely not going to appreciate the comparison. He received a thoroughly unimpressed glare in response. There was silence again for a moment, before Kagami began again with, "The fucking cutlery in that place was stupid."

"Fucking unreal," Aomine agreed incredulously, "Who needs like four forks? _You_ hardly ever use _one_."

"Oi, shut it," he snorted. " –And what was that little one, with like the thing at the end…"

"Oh _real_ clever –" The jostling continued and Kagami laughed as Aomine got him in a headlock that he wriggled from and then stole his shoes.

" –Oi! What do you think you're doing –" The chase was on. Aomine was unpredictable, except that once you knew how to needle him, he would react every single time. And their arguing was kind of how they got along.

"You're too slow!" Aomine warned, gaining on him as Kagami laughed mockingly and jetted towards the sand banks further up the beach. And just like that, they were just two sort-of friends pissing each other off and forgetting the world and everything that had happened. Aomine called out some kind of insult that was thrown straight back at him as they kicked up sand into the night sky.

Kagami stumbled up the low sand bank, laughing and grinning like a maniac as he let out a breath. Suddenly something tackled him in the side and he and Aomine went tumbling over and over to land in a heap.

"Here's your damn shoes…" he sniggered, tossing both pairs of shoes down into the sand a little down the bank and dragging himself up into a sitting position. He laughed again, "…God, you're so easy to wind up sometimes, Ahomine…Thought you were gonna catch me…" He grinned and looked across to where Aomine had also righted himself. The bluenette was chuckling a little, a small smile crossing his face as he closed his eyes to rub the sand off his face.

Then suddenly, Aomine slowly opened his eyes, and his expression began to change.

Kagami didn't know what exactly it was, but for some reason, Aomine's eyes were suddenly very striking in the moonlight. The laugh died on his lips as he saw the other ace's smile fading. He seemed suddenly very close, and Kagami felt his heart beginning to race rather strangely. He felt him leaning forwards, eyes shifting restlessly as though searching for something in Kagami's red gaze. He didn't say anything.

Inch by inch, Aomine closed the gap between them, until his lips finally brushed up against Kagami's lightly –almost chastely.

Yet somehow it still managed to steal Kagami's breath away.

Aomine pulled back slightly, dark eyes flickering between Kagami's eyes and his lips as though gauging a reaction. With no protest, he moved forwards again, their lips meeting once more; the contact a little longer this time. Kagami's eyelids felt very heavy all of a sudden as the other ace pulled back again.

This time, a tanned hand reached up to cup his cheek as Aomine kissed him once more. This kiss was slow –unhurried and _different_. Kagami felt a tongue lightly trail against his lips before drawing back; asking for permission for entrance, rather than demanding it like he was so used to.

Feeling light headed, his lips parted slightly as Aomine deepened the kiss; his body moving sidling closer as he did so. Kagami felt his hands rise to slowly run through the short hair at the back of Aomine's neck. Aomine's eyes sank closed at the sensation, and slowly –ever so slowly –and giving Kagami all the time in the world to stop him, he began lowering him back onto the sand.

Kagami didn't know what was going on, but as his back connected with something solid he came to the conclusion that he was on his back with Aomine hovering over him. The lips pressed to his _felt_ like Aomine's, but they weren't kissing him like his.

Lightly, Aomine let his tongue trail into Kagami's mouth; softly teasing as he kissed him a little harder.

Their kisses were usually so hot; so full of fire and need and downright aggressive. This was completely different. It was smouldering, and in no way gentle, but there was something…_intimate_ about it. Aomine's hand ghosted down Kagami's cheek –fingers feathering down his neck and then almost _caressing_ his chest.

His already stolen breath hitched as he felt warm hands drift down his chest –running down the contour of his abdomen and then back up his side. He let out a hot breath at the gesture as one of his own arms –under no control of his –slid from around Aomine's neck and wrapped itself around his waist –fingers clutching at his shirt.

He kissed back how he was being kissed; slow and almost _tentative_. His eyelids were fluttering and there were some god-awful butterflies beating around in his stomach. His cheeks were blushing more fiercely than ever –especially when he distinctly felt Aomine softly pry open the first button of his shirt.

Kagami's eyes shot open automatically, only to find that Aomine was gazing at him with a look that he'd never seen from him before. There was something intense about his eyes –not dangerous or hungry like usual…just…full of _him_. It was that look that calmed the sudden panic that had welled up in his chest…it was that look that told him 'it's fine'.

Not protesting or pushing him away, he felt the cool night breeze on his chest as slowly Aomine undid several of the buttons on his shirt before snaking his hand inside the fabric and tracing up Kagami's chest to brush against a nipple.

Even from the slight contact, Kagami arched up and let out a soft gasp as Aomine took the sensitive nub in two fingers and began tweaking it to hardness. Soft waves of pleasure began to shoot through the redhead's system as he pressed up to meet Aomine's touches and kisses. A moan played with the back of his throat as he traced the caverns of the other ace's mouth and his hands rose to nervously pluck open his shirt.

If Kagami's eyes hadn't been clamped shut, he would've appreciated the way that as each button popped open, more of Aomine's tanned, perfect chest would appear; glistening dark in the moonlight. But right now he was distracted from the body hovering over him by the fact that rough fingers were rubbing at one of his nipples, and he didn't seem to have a single coherent thought.

What he did have, though, was a memory of the sensation of Aomine kissing his neck, and Kagami somehow found himself praying that those sinful lips would find their way to his throat.

Almost as if Aomine had heard his prayers, he shifted slightly, pressing a kiss against the edge of Kagami's lips, and then against the underside of his chin, and then into a hot trail, right down to his pulse. Kagami felt a mouth press a searing, open-mouthed kiss against his neck, before sucking forcefully and then a sly tongue lapping at the small, red mark produced.

"…Aomine…" Kagami found himself breathing, despite himself.

"Sssshh…" Aomine hissed against his throat –like it was a command. Kagami glanced at him through clouded eyes as saw that he was looking up at him with an unusually serious expression. The bluenette's head dipped once more and sucked at his throat again as one of Kagami's hands slid up underneath his open shirt to grip the warm skin of his back. The other dropped to the sand and gripped it fiercely as the redhead gasped –Aomine having tweaked his nipple a little harder and sending a jolt of pleasure through him.

Suddenly, with a playful nip at Kagami's throat, Aomine rose up again; his movements catlike and fluid, one hand gripped his red hair and the other slid down his chest to settle at his hip. When their lips met again, it was hungrier than before –fuelled by desire –but unlike their kisses before now, it wasn't a fight. Kagami let out a low moan and felt Aomine return it; their tongues meeting with a longing heat that comes only from a smouldering ember, rather than a flash of flame.

Here...now...there were no cameras. There were no reporters, no journalists and none of their friends. There were no strangers and no spectators. There was no court; no game. Despite the expanse of the beach and the vastness of the night, this was private. This wasn't for the world.

This was for them.

Kagami barely noticed when he felt Aomine's hand slip to his thigh. His other stroked through his hair and he let out a contented rumble –almost like a purr –deep in his throat. It felt nice –almost _gentle_. He'd never thought that Aomine could be gentle, and he'd never thought he'd like it.

And yet, there was something about being treated like this –almost _spoilt_, he felt –that made his heart skip and his hands shake. Aomine's hands were coursing over him, but without urgency –without the feral lust that he usually felt when kissing him. Earlier that day in the bath, there had been animalistic desire flowing through him –devouring, all-consuming _need_.

This was so very, very different.

Kagami's chin tipped up to meet languid kisses as Aomine began to pull away. Lips met once, twice, moving almost sleepily in perfect, fluid brushes. Finally, Aomine's lips grazed his just one more time –their foreheads pressed together intimately.

Slowly, he pulled back, sitting back on his haunches –eyes never leaving the redhead sprawled out beneath him. Kagami's arms fell limply to the sand; his breaths coming in heavy pants and his head turned almost abashedly to one side; a dark hickey in clear view under the moonlight. His shirt was strewn open on one side, revealing his sculpted chest, and a single, pert nipple. Red eyes glanced up at Aomine, but the bluenette's face was cast in shadow, and he couldn't read his expression.

Touou's ace broke off the eye contact first –well, Kagami assumed there was eye contact, not that he could see his face.

"…We should find the others," Aomine drawled in his usual, bored tone, though his breathing was definitely heavier than normal. The redhead was a little startled to hear his voice. And then, as if nothing had happened, he got to his feet, cricking his neck and slowly stalked off down the sandy bank, casually brushing off his knees as he did so.

Kagami just slowly rose up onto his elbows incredulously, a crease forming in his brow.

_Wait, what? _

"Oi, are you coming, Bakagami?" Aomine remarked flatly, from where he had gathered up their shoes. Kagami just stared at him for a long moment, running a hand through his sandy hair and tugging at his open shirt to make sure that he hadn't just imagined the whole thing. Well, his shirt was undone, his lips were tender and swollen and he was pretty sure his pants didn't used to be _quite_ this tight…so that had _definitely_ happened…

"I can see the bonfire."

Speechless, Kagami got up from the sand and jogged down the bank to catch up, re-buttoning his shirt as he did so in an attempt to appear a little more presentable. It appeared that Aomine had had the same idea.

He kind of wanted to yell at him –which was what he did when Aomine was frustrating…but somehow, yelling felt kind of awkward right about now. And what would he say? _How the fuck was he playing everything off so casual_? They'd just been secretly making out in the sand –hell, _Aomine had kissed him_, and kissed him _weird. _And by _weird_, he meant like that damn goodbye kiss that he couldn't fucking forget –but this time it had obviously been a conscious decision.

Although again, he couldn't lay blame. He'd seen the kiss coming; _felt_ it, rather –he'd seen the glint in Aomine's eyes as he drew near and had somewhere, in the back of his mind, known that he was going to kiss him. And since he was apparently more of a sucker for clichés than he wanted to admit, he'd let him.

A quick glance across at the other ace revealed that signature expression of disinterest and quiet superiority that Aomine wore so well. That strange look that he'd been wearing –_looks_, rather –had faded, and he looked like it had been a thoroughly uneventful night. If there was anything going on in his head, it was well guarded –his face was unreadable.

* * *

"Atsushi…you're meant to _roast_ the marshmallow first…"

"Hah? But I wanna eat it _now_…" Murasakibara complained as the group sat around the big bonfire currently burning in the centre of their circle. Himuro just rolled his eyes, but didn't try to convince him again. Next to them, Midorima was huffily holding a stick into the flames with several flaming marshmallows in the fire.

"Takao, they're burning."

" –Trust me, Shin-chan, the burnt ones are the best," Takao assured him, sitting on the log next to him with his mouth full of marshmallows.

"Hyuga, do you want another one?" Imayoshi inquired, pulling his stick of roasted marshmallows out of the fire and offering one up to the captain sitting beside him. Hyuga gratefully accepted one of them and popped it in his mouth with a muffled, "_Fanks…_"

"I see them!" Kise exclaimed delightedly, leaping up so suddenly that he probably would've toppled into the fire if Kasamatsu hadn't dragged him back his shirt. "...Thanks senpai…"

"Idiot."

"Aomine-kun! Kagamin! How was it?" Momoi called out happily as she and Riko each helped themselves to another marshmallow. The other three Shutoku members, plus Wakamatsu and Susa all dumped down armfuls of firewood as the pair of aces strolled past with mumbled greetings. Kagami quickly took a seat next to Himuro.

"Hey, how was it?" Himuro greeted.

"Not bad," Kagami shrugged, "Not my kind of scene, though. Too many forks." He laughed, but Himuro frowned when it sounded a little forced. He looked at him carefully as his brother distractedly tossed a marshmallow into his mouth. Something was off. A quick glance at Kuroko, who was on Kagami's other side, confirmed this when the phantom nodded with a slight frown.

Out of the corner of his eye, Himuro noticed the poorly concealed hickey on Kagami's throat, and simply raised an eyebrow. Aomine had plonked himself down with Momoi and Kiyoshi and was helping himself to the marshmallows that Sakurai had been busy roasting. Was something up? He glanced across at Kagami, who saw the look and just grinned at him –not necessarily a fake one, but one with a definite trace of uncertainty. But obviously he didn't want to talk about it, so he just offered him a chocolate biscuit.

Eating helped a little. It helped wash down the taste of Aomine, and the smoke was almost singeing his nose enough to get rid of his scent. His touch though, that lingered on, and as much as he didn't want to, Kagami couldn't help himself from glancing across the circle every so often to stare in confusion at Aomine. He really didn't understand what had happened. The day had been strange enough without that needing to happen too!

But Aomine was just sitting there casually, ignoring Kise and complaining that Momoi was being annoying –and to get rid of those pictures of him almost hugging Sakurai. For the most part, it seemed like he was just that same, general asshole that Kagami had been 'dating' for –he didn't know how long. Kagami could've almost sworn that Aomine had forgotten everything already –the day, the bath, the dinner, lying together in the sand, and apparently, his presence there.

…Except that as the night wore on, every so often, he would glance in his direction, and find to his confusion –and slight discomfort –that there were intense blue eyes watching him narrowly through the flames.

* * *

**Oh my god. Oh my god updated finally.**

**I may or may not have kind of laughed maniacally as I finished this. These two parts took me so long!  
So, we have some ****_very_**** interesting developments, I believe...and perhaps an intriguing realisation or two? Aomine and Kagami needed a catalyst, and who better to set that up than our favourite mischief-makers...even if it was largely unintentional... How will things be when we return home in the next chapter?**

And it was thoroughly intentional that we don't see Aomine's POV just yet, because I'm mean like that. But it's still to come, I promise you that. 

**Hope you've enjoyed these last two chapters. They wound up being unexpectedly long. Actually, this whole story has kinda spiralled out of control somehow -and we're not even done yet! I never expected it to get this big, so I thank you for reading and reviewing and supporting me through it!  
All my love,  
xx K  
(PS sorry long author's note). **


	13. Chapter 13

**My anthem for this chapter and the next: "Jump then Fall" by Taylor Swift. (Don't judge me lol). And uhh... just read on... **

* * *

The kitchen smelled fantastic, if Kagami did say so himself. He gave it a last quick stir and lifted a fork to taste it briefly. It was good. He resisted the urge to hum to himself a little as he started tidying up the bench.

Suddenly, he felt something warm brush against the crook of his neck –but didn't recoil, because the touch was familiar to him. Instead, he let his head loll gently; allowing better access to the lips ghosting against his skin. As he pressed back into the kisses, he felt a sly hand slink around to his stomach –strong fingers tracing the defined lines of his abdomen. He let out a soft breath, eyes sinking closed. He hadn't heard Aomine enter the room.

The lips on his neck grew fiercer, and a second hand joined the first, burning harsh trails into his skin as it journeyed up his chest. A small gasp escaped his throat as he felt one of his nipples tweaked teasingly, a hot tongue tracing up the length of his neck to nip at his ear suggestively.

The hands on him tightened as he felt a warm, firm body press up against his back, fingers expertly rubbing and tugging at his nipples until he was gasping and gripping the bench fiercely with pleasure. He could hear a mocking rumble of laughter in his ear –asking if he liked that.

He really did.

One of those teasing, tanned hands began gliding down his bare chest, only to pause and tug disapprovingly at his belt. Fingers slyly dipped just beneath the fabric, Aomine's lips now tearing needily at Kagami's exposed throat. The redhead's breathing quickened and he let out a soft moan.

In the back of his mind, he wondered why he was shirtless.

And then, just like that, he was back in reality, standing _alone_ in his kitchen –fully clothed, and breathing too heavily for someone who had simply been cooking. His eyes shot open in shock, finding himself gripping the edge of the bench a little too hard. His neck was cold and empty of Aomine's lips –in fact, the other ace wasn't even in the building.

Kagami cursed himself and cursed himself again as he distractedly placed a lid on the meal he was preparing and took it off the heat. God, he was pathetic –_fantasizing_ about Aomine in his kitchen! So what if the bastard was hot as hell? That didn't mean he had the right to just keep on invading his mind and senses!

With a cross huff, Kagami checked the clock and then his phone.

They'd gotten home from vacation about a week ago, and he'd barely seen Aomine during that time. In all fairness, maybe it was best.

These days there seemed to be an awful lot of things they were agreeing to not talk about.

Kagami had been both desperate and loath to talk to someone about what had transpired between him and Aomine on the beach. He needed to say something, because he didn't know what to think himself. But on the other hand, he found it embarrassing to just remember, let alone talk about just yet.

It was embarrassing for a number of reasons.

Firstly, he had no excuse for it. He couldn't say they were making a statement and he couldn't say it was an accident. It was neither; it had just _happened. _Secondly, he didn't want to admit how much of a sap he was; how easily he had fallen prey to a soft look and a gentle touch. One moonlit look from Aomine and he'd been completely caught. All Aomine had done was touch him –and not anywhere that _really_ mattered, but looking back, Kagami was a little worried at how much he might've _let _him do had he chosen to continue.

Thirdly…Aomine had walked away. He wondered if he'd done something wrong. People didn't just get up from making out, dust themselves off and walk away unless there was something wrong, right? He wasn't an expert on such matters, but he was pretty damn sure that Aomine's departure had been weird for the situation.

…Disregarding the fact that the situation itself was weird anyways…

So for the meantime, at least until his head cleared, he hadn't said anything. He knew that Tatsuya suspected something –he'd seen the worried look in his face. But he'd respected that Kagami hadn't wanted to talk, and hadn't pressed him. Takao had also seemed a little suspicious, but had held his tongue –for which the redhead was grateful.

As for clearing his head…well, that remained far off. Kagami had so far determined that Aomine was hot, though after admitting that, he'd slammed on the brakes and refused to delve further. Put bluntly in his mind; he was simply physically attracted to him. That much was abundantly clear, and to some extent explained his fantasizing. It also helped him justify his actions on the beach. He liked it when Aomine touched and kissed him –be it in public during the day or alone by starlight; the setting didn't change it.

However, he _did_ have to admit that this time was different from the other times. For one thing, Aomine hadn't forced the kiss on him. It hadn't come from the blue. And above all else, there had just been _something_ in the look in Aomine's eyes, and the thick hiss of his voice and in the movements of his hands that had made Kagami feel…

…He didn't know what he'd felt. But it was something other than physical desire and he didn't like that. In the back of his mind, his subconscious whispered, '_he made you feel special_' or something along those lines –but his conscious mind was refusing to hear such a preposterous suggestion. He'd seen enough chick flicks to have heard more than one character claim that 'he made me feel special' and did not want to join their ranks. They just ended up broken.

So lust he had put it down to. Teenagers were hormonal anyway, and he was perhaps a little sexually frustrated. He was surging with testosterone, a virgin and couldn't think of the last time he interacted with a female that wasn't the Coach or Momoi. Aomine was…he was just _there_...so he was making do…

It wasn't a particularly kind thought, but Aomine was also a douchebag and in Kagami's mind, it beat the alternative.

Though, lust didn't explain why he was currently making him dinner, and he didn't care to think of an explanation other than 'He's my fake boyfriend and Momoi seems to think it's our six month anniversary around now'. The pinkette had dropped that bomb in casual conversation as they were all getting back into their respective vans. Kagami had been a little surprised that it was so long since that troublesome Christmas party –even though he was aware of how the year worked. In any case, he'd been considering making dinner for them and just hanging out –so that could double as a weird kind of anniversary, right?

For some reason, instead of telling Aomine straight up, he'd told him to come over to play video games at seven and maybe some one-on-one later –intending on surprising him with a home-cooked meal. Secretly, he was a little excited to see what his reaction was.

It was seven-twenty.

Ahh, it didn't matter. Ahomine was late to everything.

Almost cheerfully –though refusing to attribute it to an impending 'date' with Aomine –he continued tidying the kitchen. It'd be nice to just hang out again –no pressure from society or anything. They could just chill; maybe go for some one-on-one before it got dark.

At quarter to eight, he sent a text to Aomine saying, _are you coming or not, Ahomine_?

He flicked on the television to wait, the smell of food still wafting through into the living room. His stomach growled, but he ignored it.

The show finished at eight thirty, and when he checked his phone, he didn't have any messages. With a sigh, he headed back into the kitchen and looked dejectedly at the meal he'd made. Dammit. Seriously, _Ahomine_? The one time he tried to do something nice for the sake of being nice –to make up for the so-not-them dinner at that flashy hotel…The one time he had put in effort like this, and of course _now_ was the time he'd let him down…He'd thought that maybe since they hadn't hung out much this week, Aomine would show up...

Dejectedly, he went and flopped back on the couch to pretend to not be dejected.

At nine o'clock, he got a text.

_With friends. Join? _Kagami's expression brightened slightly as he sent back a reply with the traditional insult, followed by a query about where he was. He was at some little diner-esque place not too far away, apparently. He wondered who he was with. Maybe Takao and the Shutoku guys? Although, he'd been getting on better with his own teammates recently…

Ahh well, the night wasn't a complete waste.

And _no_ he wasn't looking forward to seeing him. He was just bored of sitting around at home.

* * *

Kagami tucked his hands into his pockets as he strolled through the street, looking for the place Aomine had said he was at. It was starting to get dark, and he was still hungry. He probably should've had some of that food before he came…he didn't know how much he could afford to eat out right now…Maybe he could convince one of the others to shout him something…

Finally, he caught sight of the diner and pushed open the door –almost immediately spying Aomine sitting at a booth. He was about to call out some greeting when he froze, all of a sudden, and the door swung back and practically hit him in the face. The noise attracted the group's attention, and they stared.

"Yo," Aomine drawled casually from the booth, his arms stretched out along the back of the seat, with a pretty girl sitting either side of him. For some reason, that made Kagami's heart sink.

He didn't recognise anyone at the table, and it further bothered him that over half of them were female. A couple of them he recognised as being from Touou, so he reasoned that they were all his classmates.

"Oh…didn't know you were meeting up with people from school," he commented as he wandered over, his voice coming out a lot flatter than he'd intended. "I thought we were gonna go have a game or something." He knew he sounded disappointed, and felt a frown crossing his face as one of the girls shifted a bit closer to Aomine and he didn't shrug her off.

"Hah? Oh yeah, I knew I was forgetting something," Aomine remarked indifferently, "I was coming to yours when these guys asked if I wanted to join." Kagami quirked an eyebrow, wondering if he even knew their names.

"You could've texted me," he snorted, averting his eyes and his fists clenching in his pockets with some kind of strange hurt that he couldn't explain and didn't like in the slightest.

"I did," Aomine reminded him with a scoff.

"It's half nine, Ahomine."

"So? Chill," he snorted, and quirked a mocking eyebrow as he noticed the look on Kagami's face that he apparently wasn't hiding too well. "Oi, Bakagami, what the hell's that face for? I haven't hung out with these guys in ages –"

"So you blow me off?" Kagami retorted –unable to keep the childish anger from his voice.

"Are you pissed?" Aomine scowled suddenly, his eyes narrowing as he straightened up.

"No." The lie was obvious. The bluenette scoffed and his expression darkened.

"You are, aren't you?"

"I said I'm not."

"Tch, you're a fucking bad liar," Aomine snapped, "It's none of your business."

"Isn't it?"

"See, you're fucking pissed," he growled, rising to his feet and the people at the booth beside him shrank back a little as Kagami took another confrontational step forwards. "We play video games all the time, what's the big deal?"

"It's not a big deal!"

"You're fucking making it one –"

"…Tch…" Kagami scoffed, not liking the way some of the girls were eyeing Aomine. They were exactly his type too; slender, big eyed, and big-breasted. He suddenly became thoroughly conscious that he was a male, six-foot something wall of muscle. "Forget it –just go back to them. I was just on my way to Kuroko's…"

"Liar," Aomine snorted, stalking out from the booth to grab his wrist as he made to leave. His face held a trace of suspicion, "–Why are you being a dick about me hanging out with –"

"Name them," Kagami sniffed.

"Hah?"

"What are their names?" he expanded. Aomine blinked at him in confusion for a moment and looked back over his shoulder, a little puzzled. As Kagami had thought –he barely knew them. "You're an asshole, Aomine. Ditching me to hang out with some chicks…"

"Oi –" Kagami was already turning away. "Jeez, what the hell –I just didn't feel like –"

"You _always_ feel like basketball," he snorted crossly, "Forget it." Aomine grabbed him by the elbow and tugged him back.

"…Don't ignore me," he growled threateningly –right in Kagami's ear. The predatory tone sent a shiver down the redhead's spine –and it wasn't from fear.

"Go back to your girls," he hissed.

" –Oh, you're not pissed I ditched you, you're pissed I'm getting more action than you…" Aomine glared.

"Jeez, Ahomine, you're fucking thick," Kagami snarled in a low tone, jabbing him in the chest, "…_Remember how I'm supposed to be your boyfriend_?" He didn't know why he was getting so angry. He didn't know why he suddenly tore his arm out of Aomine's grip and rather publically stormed out of the diner. The door clattered shut behind him and he furiously stalked down the street, texting Kuroko and telling him he was coming over.

As soon as he'd sent the text, his phone rang. It was Aomine.

"What do you want?" he inquired, trying to keep his voice even and failing.

"Not that I care…but what the hell?" Aomine drawled in a voice laced with aggression. Kagami swallowed and tried to let his breathing even out. Why was he mad? Because Aomine had ditched him? He had _no_ obligation to tell him where he was at all times –and anyways, Kagami had just lied and said that they'd just be hanging out casually, instead of telling him he'd put effort into something. He was well within his rights to hang out with whoever he wanted if he got a better offer.

And yet, despite telling himself all that, and that Aomine wasn't his real boyfriend –that it wasn't _really _their anniversary; he was angry. If he'd just been ditched for friends, that would've been fine –he would've understood, and joined in, and they all would've had a merry time.

It really was the girls. He didn't like seeing Aomine with those girls. The clenching feeling in his chest when he'd seen Aomine's arms stretched behind them (even if he'd only been pretending to listen) –was _jealousy_. He'd chosen to hang out with some busty chicks he barely knew, instead of _him_.

"…Uhh, haha, fooled you, didn't I?" Kagami managed to chuckle out, and hoped it was convincing.

"What?"

"…You know, stupid, we're meant to be breaking up soon?" he reminded him, "…Thought that'd make a great place to set up a fight, yeah…" his voice was shaking a little still. There was silence for a long moment, and he knew that Aomine was thoroughly suspicious. "…Pretty good acting, huh? Maybe I should give up basketball and become an actor –"

"You're a fucking liar."

"Tch, whatever you say," he snorted casually, "…I was heading to Kuroko's when I got your text –seemed like a good place for a fight." He laughed again, for good measure, "…Fooled them, did it?"

"Yeah," came Aomine's gruff response from the other end of the line. The _'but not me'_ went unsaid, but Kagami heard it and swallowed audibly.

"One-on-one tomorrow?" he managed to say, "…I'll probably be at Kuroko's late, so yeah…"

"Kagami –" Kagami hung up on him and switched his phone off. He knew that was incredibly childish. He knew that he was being _absolutely_ ridiculous. Aomine had ditched him before and they'd been fine –he'd usually mock him, saying he was too scared to lose so hadn't shown up, or that Momoi was cracking her whip.

It wasn't like he'd kind of been looking forward to cooking for him. It wasn't like he had any right to throw a tantrum just because Aomine had friends other than the ones they shared. It wasn't like they were actually together. It wasn't fair of him to snap about those girls. They were probably really nice. But because they'd been fawning on Aomine –he'd seen one of them dare to touch his chest –he'd started acting all petty-like.

* * *

"…I don't want to talk about it," Kagami remarked flatly as soon as Kuroko opened his door and let him in; an eyebrow raised curiously. He was annoyed at Aomine and annoyed at himself for _being_ annoyed at Aomine. He probably shouldn't have stormed out –maybe he should've just gone and hung out with them.

Unfortunately, he knew that he would not have been at all comfortable being around them –especially with all those girls making eyes at the guy…Who did Aomine think he was? The least he could've done was just texted him instead of keeping him waiting….and he'd specially made his favourite food and everything…

"What did Aomine-kun do?" he inquired, guiding him over to the TV where it appeared he was playing online, "Takao-kun's online, by the way."

"Hey Takao," Kagami remarked into the headset that the phantom was currently wearing, "What? Who said Aomine did anything?"

"_Is he wearing his Aomine face_?" Takao's voice inquired from the TV, where the pair of them appeared to be waiting for a new game to start.

"Yes."

"My Aomine –_I do not have an Aomine face_!" Kagami practically squawked.

"You do," Kuroko informed him as they headed to the couch; Kuroko sitting cross-legged and Kagami slumping down lazily. "What did he do?"

"Nothing."

"_You're a _terrible_ liar_," Takao deadpanned, "_Kuroko, could you start playing seriously? These noob kids keep talking big_ –" he paused dramatically. "_And _someone_ won't join in!_"

"_I have homework_," Midorima could be heard complaining from somewhere in the distance.

"Fine," Kuroko rolled his eyes, "Kagami-kun…what happened?"

"…Nothing," he insisted, "We were going to hang out tonight and he didn't turn up."

"…Continue." Seriously, was he _that_ transparent?

"He was with some chicks or something…" he muttered with a shrug and both Kuroko and Takao made an 'ohhhh' sound. "…What? What's that noise for?" He didn't get a response. "Look, can I just hang here for a bit?"

"…_You sound mad_," Takao remarked.

"I'm not mad," he snapped hotly.

"_Then why are you yelling_?"

"I'm not –" he was definitely speaking louder than usual. "_I'm not yelling_," he repeated in a softer voice, folding his arms defensively. "I just wanted to hang out with him tonight. That's all."

"_I know the feeling_," Takao remarked dryly.

"_I'm here, aren't I_?" Midorima snorted, "_Takao…tell Kagami that he does not have to be ashamed of being disappointed –but don't say I said it_…"

"_Shin-chan, he can hear you…_"

"_Fuck." _Kagami chuckled, a little touched by Midorima's concern, though surprised. It was nice to hear something like that from the stoic shooting guard, and he felt a little better. But yes, disappointment was part of what he was feeling. He'd been really looking forward to just hanging out the way they used to before things started _happening, _and had thought that Aomine would've felt similarly. Apparently not, though...

"You and Aomine-kun do enjoy your time together, after all," Kuroko pointed out, and he couldn't deny it, though he didn't want to _admit_ it, "So it's only natural that you're disappointed when he lets you down." That made him smile a bit.

"_Aomine can be self-centred_," Midorima added, his voice louder, indicating that he had moved closer to Takao. "_Do not waste your thoughts on him."_

"_Shin-chan, are you trying to be nice?" _There was an 'oof' that indicated that Midorima had likely bonked his boyfriend on the head to make him shut up. Kagami chuckled as Kuroko handed him a controller, saying, "Takao-kun; Kagami-kun and I are going to beat you."

"_Not happening, Kuroko_." That was Midorima. Kagami laughed again, trying to put his anger at Aomine to the back of his mind. The bastard had probably just shrugged and gone back to those girls and was laughing it up about him being a clingy boyfriend. Either that, or he'd completely forgotten about him –again.

* * *

The door opened and a pretty blonde girl peered out at Aomine. He didn't even glance at her as he leaned back against the wall and watched the sky. He couldn't remember her name.

"Are you coming back inside, Aomine-kun?" she inquired, noting the phone held in his hand, "…I'm sure he's not actually mad."

"Tch," Aomine scoffed, brow furrowing in annoyance.

"He said he wasn't mad."

"He was mad," he snapped flatly, turning to glare at her. She recoiled a little at the dark glint in his eyes. Seeing her fear, he scoffed again and folded his arms. He knew Kagami well enough to be able to tell the difference between annoyance, playful anger and actual anger –not that he'd ever seen Kagami _actually _angry at him until now.

He checked his phone for what felt like the thousandth time. He didn't have any calls or messages. If he'd known that Kagami was going to flip like that…what was the big deal anyway? He forgot what time they were meeting up all the time. And they were just going to hang out –what the fuck, Kagami?

God that idiot was so annoying. Fine, if he was going to be like that, then let him.

"Aomine-kun?" that girl was still standing there, waiting for him. He yawned.

"…Yeah…I'll just be a minute…" he muttered flatly, but didn't really acknowledge her. The door clicked shut again and he pocketed his silent phone with a sigh. Tch, seriously, why did Kagami have to go and fucking storm off like that…he was such a pain. He better not be fucking sulking.

With a bored sigh, he turned and headed back towards the door.

* * *

**... SORRY... but you had to know a chapter like this was coming! Too many rainbows and sparkles recently; gotta have some clouds...**

**Kagami's confused but trying to convince himself he's not... Poor guy; and what was Ahomine thinking? That ****_is_**** the big question these days, isn't it? What are the reasons behind his actions?  
We'll find out very soon...**

**Love you (even if this chapter doesn't make you believe it...)  
xx K**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well, well, I must say, I am astonished that this story has reached this length. This chapter here was actually one of the first that I thought of! I also give so many thanks to you all who have reviewed; the story has evolved and grown thanks to you *smiles***

* * *

**The next day… **

* * *

"Tch…maybe you're actually improving…" Aomine drawled as Wakamatsu dangled from the hoop after a particularly aggressive dunk. Wakamatsu peered back over his shoulder in shock and promptly fell to his ass on the floor with shock at his ace actually saying something that sounded like a compliment. He stared up at Imayoshi and Sakurai to make sure that he hadn't just been imagining things. From the way that Imayoshi's mouth was gaping and how Sakurai had physically dropped the ball he'd been holding, it appeared that he'd made no mistake.

"Clumsy," Aomine scoffed, stalking past and picking up the ball Sakurai had dropped. He reached out a tanned hand and the shooting guard pulled back with fear plastered across his face. Aomine just quirked an eyebrow in confusion, and just patted Sakurai's head with a remark of, "…You're usually less of a klutz…"

Imayoshi didn't know whether to laugh at how Sakurai looked like he was visibly about to cry, or be stunned by Aomine's suddenly very strange demeanour. He just stood there, speechless, as Aomine accepted a pass from Susa, and began jogging down the court with a strange vigour in his steps. Momoi also appeared to be absolutely bamboozled as to what was wrong.

"Is he broken?" Wakamatsu inquired flatly, "Where's the real Aomine?"

"What's going on?" Imayoshi whispered, suddenly hearing his phone start ringing. He headed over to get it and was a little surprised to find that it was Seirin's captain. Would wonders never cease? "Hyuga?" he answered in confusion, wondering why he was getting a call. Momoi's phone started ringing as well.

" –Something's wrong with Kagami," was Hyuga's opening line.

"Hah? What kind of wrong?" Imayoshi asked curiously.

"…Well not _wrong_ so much as…he's…" Hyuga struggled for the word, "…Acting weird…" Imayoshi raised an eyebrow and looked out to the court to see where Aomine was almost –_almost_ smiling.

"Funny that you should say that," he commented, "…We have an unusually happy ace ourselves." There was silence from the other end of the line, "Why are you calling me?" From the look on Momoi's face, it seemed as though it was Kuroko on the other end of the line. So when Kagami was acting weird, Seirin's reflex was to call Touou?

In their defence…it make sense.

"…We were wondering if you guys knew anything about it…" Hyuga remarked dryly, in a tone that Imayoshi knew indicated that his coach had demanded that he call. "Kagami's…" He held away the phone, and Imayoshi caught snatches of the overly enthusiastic cries of Kagami in the background. Even from down the line, he could hear the good mood radiating from his voice.

"…I suppose it's no coincidence that we have two aces in surprisingly good moods," he deadpanned. "We don't know anything about ours. It's scary, actually. Sakurai practically fainted when Aomine patted him on the head."

"An understandable reaction," Hyuga snorted as Imayoshi paused, having an interesting thought.

"…Kagami isn't walking unusually, is he? Having trouble jumping?" There was a long silence as apparently Hyuga surveyed Kagami's gait.

"Nope; normal…why?" he replied.

"…Ahh, well safe to say _that's_ out of the question," Imayoshi commented lightly and Hyuga made a choking noise as he understood the reason behind his question.

"You don't honestly think they would?" he spluttered in a hiss, sounding a little flustered.

"…Honestly couldn't say," he replied conversationally, glancing across to where Aomine seemed perfectly at ease with tossing a ball with Sakurai. Sakurai looked considerably less comfortable with the situation. "…Though I believe that if it had happened, we would all be _well aware_…" Hyuga coughed awkwardly and he chuckled, "My, Hyuga, am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Shut up," Seirin's captain snapped back; obviously embarrassed by the turn of the conversation. "Okay…uhh…call me if you hear anything…"

"Can I call you even if I don't?" Imayoshi teased.

"No." Hyuga hung up and Imayoshi chuckled to himself as he chucked his phone back in his bag; wandering over to where Momoi was still on the phone.

"Takao-kun?" she commented, apparently having hung up with Kuroko once it was apparent that neither of them knew the cause of the mysterious good mood their pair of aces seemed to be in. "Hi! How is Midorin this afternoon?"

"Cranky," Takao replied with a chuckle as he sat on the bench with his phone, while watching the rest of his team practicing, "Didn't get enough sleep last night. I don't know what he's complaining about –it's his own fault…"

"Takao, how many times have I told you –" Midorima sniffed crossly.

" –Also, the coach isn't letting him have any more selfish actions today," he added sheepishly, "Apparently 'temporarily incapacitating me' counts as all three." Momoi's cheeks flushed scarlet in understanding as Takao squawked at having a basketball tossed at his face. Midorima's own face had turned a little pink and Otsubo had just facepalmed at the trouble with having the pair of them as a couple.

"On the topic of moods…" Momoi added, when she had managed to get her blush under control, "…We're all a little confused because Aomine-kun and Kagamin are in really good moods today."

"Really?" Takao inquired curiously, pondering this information, "Well, I did run into Kagami this morning…he said something about Aomine staying over…" Momoi let out a delighted squeal and then clamped a hand over her mouth to try and stifle subsequent squeals. It didn't work. "…Which I thought was strange –Kagami spent like three hours complaining about him last night."

"Tetsu-kun did say that Kagamin did turn up to his house in a bad mood last night…" Momoi mused, "I wonder what Aomine-kun did…"

"That's what we said. He had his Aomine face on."

"_Ohh_…" she remarked in understanding, before glancing over to where Aomine was giving her a suspicious look –drawn by her squealing.

"…They were meant to hang out, but Aomine ditched him," Takao explained, "…Kagami was pretty disappointed." Momoi's heart went out to the poor guy. That Ahomine! Taking Kagamin for granted like that! She glared over at him crossly –not that he knew what he was receiving such a glare for. " –But yeah, when I saw Kagami, he seemed in a better mood, I guess. You say Aomine is too?"

"Aomine-kun is playing catch with Sakurai-kun." Takao paused a moment to mull over this news.

"…Are you sure it's the real Aomine?"

"…Well, not entirely," she admitted with a giggle, "Ahh, thank you, Takao-kun! We were all so curious…Take care! And I hope Midorin doesn't make you pull the cart today!" Takao just made a disbelieving noise in farewell as she hung up. She looked over to Aomine again, where he was actually trading jibes with Wakamatsu. He might not realise it, but his voice sounded so happy, and that smile was back in his eyes. She wondered what had happened.

Currently, all of Seirin was wondering much the same thing.

Kagami had walked into practice with practically a skip in his step. He was grinning like a maniac and laughing as he played. His plays were fiercer, his temperament a lot less hot-headed and he'd even greeted Nigou without running away. Even when Riko had announced double drills, he'd just agreed that they needed the practice.

They'd held a team meeting while he was in the bathroom. Izuki had put money on it being about Aomine. Koganei had wondered if something had happened _to_ Aomine. Riko wondered if something had happened _with_ Aomine. Hyuga had been elected to call Touou to investigate. It was all good and well that their ace was in a good mood, but according to Kuroko, he'd been in a foul temper with his not-boyfriend the previous night, so this was a dramatic turnaround.

"What's up, guys?" he inquired cheerfully as Hyuga and Kuroko hung up their phones and exchanged shrugs.

"…Arranging a practice match with Touou," Hyuga lied.

"Yes," Kuroko agreed immediately. Kagami's grin widened.

"Sounds great," he replied, and his two teammates glanced at each other when they noticed the small blush that rose to Kagami's cheeks. Hyuga nudged Kuroko pointedly.

"Ahh, Kagami-kun," the phantom remarked, "…You seem in a good mood today."

"Do I?" Kagami commented in surprise, scratching his chin awkwardly. "…I just got a really good sleep, I suppose, is all…" Kuroko raised an eyebrow and felt his phone vibrate. He flipped it open and read the text from Momoi.

_Mystery solved! Aomine-kun stayed over last night_.

Wordlessly, and his face giving away nothing, he held out the text to Hyuga. Their captain, to his credit, tried very hard to keep his composure, but Kagami noticed him behaving unusually.

"What was that?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Practice game on Tuesday," Kuroko replied quickly, and Hyuga let out a short breath as Kagami seemed to accept this. Thank god for Kuroko sometimes…

Apparently his curiosity over the phone calls sated, Kagami just turned and headed back to practice. Hyuga couldn't help but cock his head, wondering if his way of running was any different from usual.

"Kuroko…does Kagami look like he's limping at all?"

"…Not at all," Kuroko replied with a raised eyebrow, "Why –oh…" Having understood, Kuroko now turned to peer after Kagami, intently staring at his lower half and debating about whether or not he was going to have to correct his statement. But no, Kagami was not limping.

"Maybe you should call Imayoshi-san and ask about Aomine-kun," Kuroko advised quietly.

"…I think he implied that Aomine was fine –uhh, Kuroko…your nose is bleeding again…"

* * *

**Earlier that morning…**

* * *

Kagami had been rather rudely awakened by his alarm clock going off. Still groggy with sleep, he'd leaned over and slammed a hand down on it to shut it up, only to feel something constrict around him with the movement.

He was so comfortable and warm that for a moment, he'd barely noticed, just snuggling deeper into the covers. It was as he did so that he became aware that there was something warm and solid pressed up against his back. He wriggled experimentally, wondering if his bed had shrunk in the night, but all that happened was that he felt a soft breath against his neck, and something strong tugging him back against the 'wall' behind him.

Blinking blearily, he glanced back over his shoulder, and came nose-to-nose with Aomine Daiki, whose face was the picture of sleeping content. His red eyes had batted fiercely, trying to process this information while his brain struggled to wake. He managed to push his blankets down a little, and discovered that there was a tanned arm slung almost possessively around him; Aomine's hand tucked neatly _underneath his shirt_, against the contours of his abdomen.

Kagami's mouth felt a little dry and somehow couldn't find his voice. If he'd managed to make any kind of noise, he was relatively sure he'd be yelling in shock. But instead, he just wriggled again to try and free himself. He felt Aomine frown into the skin of the back of his neck, and the bluenette made a disgruntled noise.

"…Five more minutes…" he mumbled sleepily, his hand sliding up Kagami's chest under his shirt to better tug him back against his chest. Kagami's breath hitched as Aomine's fingers accidentally brushed over one of his nipples. It was almost like the dozing Aomine had heard this sound because he let out an approving rumble and _nuzzled_ up against Kagami's neck.

The redhead was a little torn between panicking and getting comfortable. He was certainly already very comfortable and nice and warm –he kind of liked this. If he hadn't been panicking quite so much, and if this wasn't one of those things they were never going to talk about, he might've mocked Aomine for being such a snuggler.

God, Aomine was spooning him and he really wasn't protesting. In fact, he had half a mind to go back to sleep. The warm, deep breaths on his neck were soothing and in the back of his mind he decided he could get used to this.

But his alarm had gone off…And he wasn't gonna let Aomine catch him condoning this whole snuggling kind of thing. Without a doubt, _he'd_ be the one to get blamed, despite the fact that Aomine was the one with his hand up his shirt…Okay, his body was starting to react to Aomine's touch; time to get up.

Even a sleeping Aomine was a strong one, Kagami found out rather quickly, as he tried to pry away the arm that bound him to the other ace's chest. Eventually, he managed to work his fingers between Aomine's and get him to release his chest –only to wind up with a vice-like grip on his hand. By the time he'd managed to disentangle himself, he was sweating.

God, he was lucky that Aomine hadn't hooked a leg over him. He probably never would've escaped.

…He didn't like that that thought made him a little disappointed.

His warmth gone, Aomine let out a disgruntled growl, rolling over into the space that Kagami had left, and promptly buried his face into the pillow that the redhead had been using with a sleepy mewl. Kagami couldn't help but clamp a hand over his mouth as his eyes softened. If he hadn't already gotten over his anger at Aomine, that probably would've done it.

Resisting the ridiculous urge to get back in bed, Kagami stalked off to shower, taking some clothes with him as he went. He kept it brief –to discourage his thoughts (and hands) from wandering, and when he was done, peeked into his room to see if Aomine was still there.

He was still fast asleep. Should he wake him up? Meh, it wasn't a school day. He was only getting up because he had some things to do in town before practice this afternoon. So, leaving Aomine hugging a pillow with his face buried in the other, he went to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

While he was fixing breakfast, he mulled over last night.

* * *

He'd arrived home from Kuroko's past one am –not regretting staying out late in the slightest. It had been worth it to hear Takao's gaming mouth and seeing Midorima rage-quit when Kuroko kept stealing his kills –and then deny it. He was pretty glad he'd started hanging out with those guys. How had that even happened again?

Anyway, he'd been exhausted but assured Kuroko that he was fine to walk home. When he'd gotten back to his apartment, the light in the kitchen had been on, so he'd gone to investigate. What he'd found was a set of dirty dishes that he didn't recall leaving –and since the front door had still been locked, he could only conclude that Aomine had been there.

That anger that had been dulled by Takao's sense of humour and Kuroko beating Midorima in a shooting game suddenly flared back to life. Kagami had noted that the food eaten had been some of what he had intended for he and Aomine, and this made him annoyed. The bastard hadn't shown up, ditched him for girls, not come after him, let himself into his apartment, eaten his food and left a mess! Damn him!

Huffing in annoyance, he cleaned up the dishes as he was used to, and switched off the light. It was as he approached his bedroom door that he became aware that there was the sound of light snoring come from inside.

He pushed the door open slightly, and lo and behold, there was Aomine Daiki, propped up against the headboard with one of his basketball magazines; fast asleep.

Kagami wanted to punch him. After all that, and he had the nerve to crash on his bed?

But something stopped him from going over there and rather rudely pushing him to the floor. He noticed that Aomine was sitting on his bed, and not sprawled under the blankets. His shoes were still on –_how many fucking times had he told him about shoes on the furniture_ –and the magazine was still open in his lap, as though he'd fallen asleep reading it. His phone was open beside him –like he'd been expecting a call.

His rage wilted.

_Had Aomine waited up for him_?

"Ahomine?" Kagami queried flatly. The ace on the bed just let out a small snore and fidgeted in his sleep. Kagami gritted his teeth and obligingly kicked his door back so that it hit the wall with a fierce thud. Aomine's eyes jolted open with a start and a sleepy, "I…just…resting my eyes…" After a few seconds, he seemed to realise who had woken him.

"…Ahh…Kagami?" he yawned.

"…Yeah," Kagami snorted, folding his arms, "I live here, bastard, remember? What are you doing here?" Ignoring him, Aomine tossed aside the magazine and stretched, inquiring, "What time is it?"

"Past one. Why are you in my apartment?" Kagami demanded as Aomine just shrugged noncommittally and stalked past to head back to the living room; flicking the lights on. "How long have you been here?"

"Dunno…since you ran away crying…"

"…Since I…_I was not crying_!" he snapped defensively.

"Might as well have been…"

"Like hell I was!"

"But you were pissed," Aomine pointed out in a bored tone, "Weren't you?" He was headed for the kitchen. Kagami followed; annoyed to have to be trailing around his house after Aomine. He caught him eyeing the fridge for leftovers, and obligingly slammed the appliance door shut.

"I_ told you_," Kagami sniffed, leaning against the fridge so that Aomine would give him a straight answer and stop stealing his food. The bluenette just quirked a disbelieving eyebrow at him.

"Hah? Oh, that bullshit about staging a fight?" he snorted, "What a joke." Realising that Kagami was seriously not going to move from the fridge, he just tucked his hands in his pockets and sauntered towards the doorway back to the living room. "…If you'd planned something, you should've just told me." Kagami flushed with embarrassment.

"I –I don't know what you're talking about," he sniffed.

"…Teriyaki…" Aomine mused aloud, and Kagami gritted his teeth in embarrassment at being found out like this. "Sure, not in burger form but…" He glanced back over his shoulder and saw that Kagami was rather pointedly refusing to look him in the eye. Kagami refused to accept that he was blushing again. So he knew what Aomine's favourite food was, so what? So the meal he'd decided to cook for them happened to run along those lines, so what? _Jeez, stop blushing, cheeks_!

"…It was good…" He only just managed to catch that mumbled compliment because he'd just realised what Aomine had said before.

"You were here for over three hours?" he exclaimed incredulously. Aomine shot him a dark look and shrugged noncommittally again, "Why? I told you I was going to Kuroko's."

"I knew you'd be back." Kagami blinked in astonishment as the other ace slung himself down on the couch and closed his eyes, "…Turn the light off…" he demanded blearily; obviously having no intention of walking home at this time of night. Instead of obeying, he just stared for a moment, not sure what he was feeling. A few hours ago –hell, a few minutes ago –he'd been super pissed at the guy…but now he found him waiting up for him to come home, and complimenting his food?

_Had he really been there since their weird fight? What about those girls? _

"You're an idiot," he snorted crossly, walking past the uncomfortable-looking Aomine. "…We're meant to be together; why would you go being seen in public getting cosy with a bunch of girls?"

"Nothing happened."

"…Didn't look that way," he grumbled, but he saw Aomine's eyes snap open defiantly –almost angrily.

"I _said_, _nothing happened_," he repeated, his voice dropping dangerously, "Tch, not like anything would. Those girls were annoying as all hell."

"Then why were you with them?" Kagami remarked dryly, "…You seemed to be enjoying yourself. Why ditch them and come here?"

"…They were boring," Aomine drawled with a yawn.

"…So you came here to sit by yourself for nearly four hours?" Kagami deadpanned and then raised an eyebrow in understanding, with his voice adopting a quizzical tone, "…Is this you apologising?"

"Tch…what would I be apologising for?" the bluenette scoffed flatly. "You weren't mad." Kagami almost laughed. He was so right. Aomine sitting up, waiting for him; that was his unsaid apology for not showing up. He'd known he was angry, so he'd ditched the girls and come to his apartment to wait for him to get home. Kagami felt a soft flutter in his chest at that knowledge. True, it was getting on towards two in the morning and they were obviously tired –so hanging out now was pointless…but he supposed that it was the thought that counted.

Especially when such thoughts were pretty rare when it came to Aomine.

"Yeah, exactly," he clarified with a sniff, "I wasn't mad, and you're not sorry."

"Glad we understand each other," Aomine snorted flatly. Again, Kagami resisted the urge to laugh, and just shook his head in exasperation. The pair of them were just ridiculous sometimes. But his anger had died, so he headed back to his room to get changed.

But his bed just looked too inviting to resist flopping down on it for a moment. He was tired because of the hour and from the walk home, so he took relief in being off his feet for a moment; burying his face in the pillows.

His bed smelled like Aomine. Without even really realising, he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes contentedly as drank in that familiar scent. The blankets were still warm from where he had been lounging.

It was then that he noticed that Aomine's phone was still sitting on his bed. Kagami grabbed it to give it back to the bastard, and saw that there were dozens of unread messages sitting there –he recognised girls' names. Knowing he shouldn't be prying, but unable to help himself, he scrolled down through them. They were asking him where he went; what was wrong; why wasn't he answering his phone…

The earliest one was from quarter to ten. God, he was telling the truth too…

He snapped the phone shut, butterflies beating in his stomach and for some reason unable to stop grinning like some kind of idiot. At least he had the restraint to not bury his face in the pillows again, because god was that chick-flick cliché, and he knew what it meant when girls reacted like that. Instead, he leapt off the bed, grabbing his pyjamas as he did so.

"Ahomine, you left your phone…" he hollered out into the living room, flicking on the lights and nearly bursting out laughing at how ridiculous Aomine looked trying to sleep on his couch. He was too long for it, and didn't look comfortable in the slightest. Annoyed eyes glared up at him for apparently ruining his attempt to sleep. Kagami paused a moment and swallowed, glancing back into his room for a moment and gauging the size of his bed.

"…Tch, you don't have to sleep on the couch," he remarked in what he hoped was a casual tone, "I don't wanna hear you whinging about being sore tomorrow…My bed's big enough for both of us." He thought he heard Aomine scoff, but just tossed his phone to land on him and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he'd finished getting ready for bed, he blearily stumbled to his room to find Aomine already lounging in his bed –thankfully fully clothed.

"Coming?" Aomine remarked, rolling onto his stomach and tucking his arms up under his pillow. Kagami almost stumbled at the combination of question and the fact that his brain couldn't stop thinking: _Aomine is waiting for you in bed; Aomine is waiting for you in bed_. "Problem?"

"No," Kagami snorted, flicking the lights off and becoming immediately relieved that he couldn't see Aomine's face. He clambered into bed almost tentatively –hyperaware of the body on the other side of the bed. He curled up facing away from Aomine and closed his eyes, desperately willing himself to sleep. He'd thought that he'd have trouble with that –a person he was attracted to lying in the same bed as him, and everything…

But somehow, he quickly found himself drifting off to sleep, finding the presence, and the comforting, deep breathing of Aomine strangely soothing.

* * *

So as Kagami had made breakfast, he'd found himself blushing at how comfortably he'd accepted Aomine into his bed, and how kind of loath he'd been to leave it. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the shower going.

" –I'm borrowing your clothes," a voice had declared from the doorway not long after, and he'd looked up and practically dropped his spatula when he'd seen Aomine standing there buckling up his pants –_Kagami's pants_ it appeared –shirtless and still slightly damp from his shower. Finishing with his pants, he ran a hand back through his hair and scratched the back of his head with a yawn as he stalked into the kitchen. Kagami scoffed to hide the fact that he was trying to keep his eyes off the other ace's chest, and stared intently at the frying pan in front of him.

"Scrambled," Aomine commented disinterestedly as he headed to get a drink from the fridge.

"What?" Kagami inquired flatly.

"…I want my eggs scrambled," he explained, taking a swig of milk straight from the carton despite the number of times Kagami had told him to quit it.

"Who said you're getting any?" the redhead scoffed, looking over and catching him in the act of sculling milk like a savage, "Jeez, get a glass; not fucking hard…"

"Quit your nagging…" he droned lazily, putting the milk back in the fridge as Kagami rolled his eyes and continued cooking.

He felt a presence behind him, and knew that Aomine had approached him. A hand planted itself firmly on the bench on one side of him, and he felt warm breath on the back of his neck as Aomine leaned over his shoulder. Kagami's breath quickened slightly, feeling the accidental brush of a nose against his skin. And suddenly, he found himself hoping that in a few seconds, he was going to feel the soft warmth of lips against his cheek.

In that moment there, he didn't fantasize about Aomine grabbing him and pinning him to the bench by his hips. Instead, he found himself all-too easily imagining a just-showered Aomine appearing in the doorway –probably complaining. He'd wander into the kitchen and make some kind of rude remark; sculling milk from the carton just to piss him off. But then as Kagami would mutter mutinously, Aomine would come up behind him and wrap his arms around his waist; kissing him on the cheek as a morning greeting. He'd reach over as he did so to steal a piece of bacon; before retreating to their room –_their room_ –to finish getting his clothes…munching on his stolen food…

Almost expectantly, Kagami found himself turning his cheek invitingly.

But the kiss never came.

Instead, Aomine just chuckled lowly, hand snaking out past Kagami to snatch a piece of bacon from the frying pan and sticking it between his front teeth with a wicked look as if to say, '_what are you going to do about it?'_ He pulled back, chewing approvingly.

"…Oi, bastard –I'm not making you breakfast," Kagami snapped; suddenly jolted back to reality by Aomine rather smugly reaching for another piece as he chewed on the first. The redhead's cheeks flamed in embarrassment, letting him just take the damn morsel as long as he was allowed to turn back to the oven in shame to curse his imagination.

Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_.

Jeez, it was one thing to have fantasies about Aomine…but that kind of sappy fantasy? Ugh, he probably would've been happier with one of the _other_ kind…

"…Scrambled…" Aomine reminded him in his ear and he damn near swatted him with the spatula. He would've fucking deserved it.

Kagami ended up making scrambled eggs to go with bacon and sausages, and grudgingly heading over the couch to hand a plate to Aomine. Without even realising, when he'd gotten everything from the fridge, he'd automatically picked out ingredients for two people, despite being unused to such a thing.

Aomine grunted some kind of phrase that he chose to interpret as a 'thank you' rather than the 'about time' that it probably was. Then, as Kagami leaned down over the couch to hand him his meal, he had that same kind of slip from reality, and found himself imagining that as he leaned over, Aomine leaned up and pressed a kiss against his cheek.

Cheeks heating up at the thought, he dumped himself on the couch and Aomine obligingly swung his feet up into his lap. Kagami glared at him, but simply shifted until he was comfortable. No, no, he didn't want any kind of sweet gestures like that from Aomine! But obviously, he kind of did. And that made him very uncomfortable. Well, that, and the fact that those butterflies were back.

Ugh.

"What's the face for?" Aomine droned as he flicked on the TV like he owned the place.

"Nothing," Kagami assured him with a shrug as he started eating his breakfast as well as he could with his plate balanced on Aomine's ankles. "I'm going out soon," he added, wondering at how easy this was; waking up together.

"…I should probably go home…" Aomine muttered with a shrug, "Mom's probably wondering why I didn't come home."

"Idiot! Why didn't you tell her where you were," he groaned.

"…I was hardly going to tell her 'staying at my boyfriend's house'," he snorted. Kagami spluttered but had to admit that that was a fair enough point. "…She's been fucking good about this so far but…" He shrugged noncommittally. Kagami chewed on his food thoughtfully. He didn't really know what Aomine's parents had thought about this whole thing. Personally, he'd gotten a call from his mom, who was rather tearful that she'd had to find out from social media that her baby was in a relationship, but happy for him nonetheless. There had been a bit of a scolding about the television incident, but apart from that, his parents had been cool. He was glad. He knew a lot of parents would've struggled.

After breakfast and watching some cartoons, Kagami cleaned up (because Aomine never cleaned up), while the other ace actually found a shirt. They'd left the apartment together –the brief fight the night before practically forgotten. Kagami couldn't explain it, but he just couldn't find it in him to stay angry. He was a little touched that Aomine had thought past himself to come see him last night –though in all fairness, he'd gotten a bed to sleep in, and breakfast made for him, and…

"Ahh, I'm headed this way," Aomine remarked with a shrug as they reached an intersection. Despite himself, Kagami had found himself having a rather pleasant morning. It had been cool to just hang out for a bit –aside from his weird brushes with insanity where he saw an alternate world in which Aomine was affectionate and he was okay with it.

"Yeah…see you later for some one-on-one?" he confirmed with a grin.

"Yeah, I'll call you," Aomine drawled with a shrug, and smirked. "The scrambled eggs were a little dry…"

"Well I'll be sure to remember that for next time," Kagami scoffed back mockingly with a roll of his eyes (not really realising what he was saying). Then, without thinking, he quickly leaned over and pressed his lips against Aomine's cheek; at the corner of his lips, before pulling back and turning to begin walking to town with a wave, "You sure can be a brat sometimes, Ahomine."

And with every step away he took, the more it dawned on him what he had just done. Refusing to look back, he clutched his mouth in astonishment. No, no this wasn't happening. He had _not_ just given Aomine a goodbye kiss on the corner of a street as they parted ways. It didn't count; it didn't count!

It wasn't even on the lips! He hadn't even thought about it!

_Oh god that made it so much worse! _It had felt like such a natural movement that he'd barely noticed it was happening –hell, had he paused in conversation? Barely! Oh god…those daydreams –did they count as daydreams –this morning had totally made him space out. They had tricked him –that was the only explanation! He'd been imagining Aomine giving him sweet kisses and now he'd just…

_No…they didn't do sweet. They couldn't do sweet. '_Sweet' went beyond just physical attraction…It was… it was _sweet_! It was cute, and real, and Kagami wanted absolutely no part in it! He clutched at his hair in melodramatic agony. His stomach was aflutter and his chest felt tight…maybe he was sick…

Mortified beyond belief, the redhead snuck a quick glance back over his shoulder.

Aomine was still standing there on the street corner; hand fingers lightly brushing the spot that Kagami's lips had touched. His eyes were wide in what seemed like shock, but when he saw the redhead glance back, he just blinked away the look and turned his back with an indifferent shrug.

Feeling like some little schoolgirl, Kagami quickly turned to face the front again, unable to keep a smile from crossing his face despite how embarrassed he was by his actions. This was the weirdest morning ever. And yet he was smiling. It was also _not_ the weirdest morning ever. It should've been weird –should've felt weird…but it hadn't; which, in itself, should have made him thoroughly uncomfortable and put him in a bad mood.

And yet he was smiling.

And he didn't want to admit that part of that, might have been because as he had turned away just then, he'd seen that Aomine was too.

* * *

"What's going on, Satsuki?" Aomine inquired curiously as he wandered over, casually dribbling a basketball during a break. He _almost _thanked Sakurai for bringing him his water bottle. "Was that Tetsu on the phone?"

"Um…yeah," she replied brightly, "We…we're having a practice game with Seirin on Tuesday." She saw that Aomine was secretly pleased but trying to hide it –not that he succeeded all that well with the grin already in his eyes. Currently he seemed to be having enough trouble struggling to keep it off his lips. "Ah, Aomine-kun; you seem in a good mood today."

"Hah?" he remarked with a quirked eyebrow, and then just shrugged, where he usually would've scoffed at her for saying such a thing, "…Just been…a good morning…is all…"

* * *

**God sometimes they are too cute for their own good. Or my sanity. At this rate, their friends may need to stage an intervention. Though, it appears that Kagami is ****_slowly_**** figuring things out. Oh so slowly. **

**And next chapter? "The thoughts of Aomine Daiki" -yup, it's finally time to see what's been going through his mind since "The Bath Incident".**

**On another note... really want to put a lemon in... really don't want to have the whole story removed. See the dilemma? If I played it safe and posted the lemon itself on a different site, would that be acceptable? Just wondering... **

**See you next chapter, hope you enjoyed**  
**xx K**


	15. Chapter 15

**Finally the next chapter!  
The inner workings of Aomine Daiki. Are he and Kagami riding the same wavelength? Or not...? **

* * *

Aomine yawned and slumped down on one arm in maths class. Considering his grades, he probably should've been paying attention, but there were more pressing matters currently occupying his mind.

He'd been thinking.

And Aomine Daiki was not known for his thinking. Satsuki seemed to rather enjoy reminding him of that –not that he really needed reminding. Usually he didn't have to think. He could _do_ it perfectly fine, he just –more often than not –chose not to.

These days, however, he seemed to be doing an awful lot of it.

And a hell of a lot of those thoughts were about a certain moron who by some crazy twist of fate, or whatever, he was forced to be around.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he slowly pulled it out to escape his teacher's notice. A quick check of his messages indicated that he had one from Kagami. Smirking to himself, he felt a chuckle brewing in his throat when he read the text.

_Seirin has a practice game after school_.

Hell, he and Kagami were petty sometimes. They both knew that such a message was actually an invitation. Resisting the urge to grin at his own hilarity, he quickly messaged back in their customary manner, which was of course, a taunt.

_Can't wait to see you lose_.

He smirked. That one always got Kagami exceptionally pissed. Fuck, he was hilarious sometimes –and riling Kagami up was definitely a cure for boredom. A few moments later, he received a message back, and quirked an eyebrow in confusion as he read it.

_Uhh…yeah…you too?_

That definitely wasn't the standard response. Had Kagami read his message wrong? Confused, he narrowed his eyes and checked his sent messages to seek an explanation.

That was about the moment that he realised that his traitorous hands had acted independently of his thoughts and hadn't quite completed the message he'd intended. What was supposed to have been a comment mocking Kagami's abilities (as usual), had actually wound up being something with a quite a different meaning.

_Can't wait to see you._

Aomine barely resisted the urge to plant his face on his desk in embarrassment. _Had he really sent that? To Kagami! _Ahh fuck. What the hell was wrong with him? He glared at his hands accusingly, as though they were the cause of all this –wait, what had Kagami replied?

_Uhh…yeah…you too? _

That was about the point that Aomine started blushing. He didn't like to admit that he blushed. Blushing indicated embarrassment, and Aomine liked to pretend that nothing ruffled him like that. Since his skin was darker, it was often unobvious. Right now, he thought he was pulling off detached and indifferent with ease, and trying desperately to ignore that his cheeks were heating up at the thought of Kagami looking forward to seeing him. He cursed himself inwardly and just slouched in his chair, staring down at the message from Kagami –almost in disbelief.

"Aomine-kun…is there something you'd like to share with the class?" his teacher inquired in that polite, intrusive tone that teachers always use when they've caught you doing something and are preparing to scold.

"Hah?" he remarked in what he had assumed was his normal, bored tone. But even as he grunted out acknowledgement, he knew it didn't sound quite right.

"Well, you are grinning like a fool at the phone on your desk," she commented lightly, "…Is there perhaps a conversation you might be interested in sharing?"

The class was turning to stare –apparently not believing that Aomine was capable of 'grinning like a fool'. Jaws dropped when they saw him and he was a little sickened to discover that his mouth had unwillingly spread into a grin –despite how much he thought he was pulling off 'normal'. Satsuki, across the classroom, let out a silent squeal –which he did not appreciate –and then rather obviously mouthed, '_Was it Kagamin_?' which was a gesture he appreciated even less.

"Well, Aomine-kun?" his teacher inquired; growing a little less patient.

"No…" he muttered sulkily, sinking down into his seat and trying to appear very small, for a change. He gritted his teeth and averted his eyes as he slid his phone back into his pocket. He wanted to be annoyed that the teacher had caught him. He wanted to glare at his classmates for staring –and for catching him in a weak moment of emotion. He wanted to message Kagami back and correct his text. That would embarrass the moron to no end, and it would be _hilarious_.

…But…_Kagami couldn't wait to see him_. And…okay _maybe_ it wasn't going to be such a drag going over to Seirin after school.

He slumped down onto his desk and wanted nothing more to hit his face into the wood a couple of times. But since Satsuki was already brimming with questions, he thought it better to just lie there and pretend to sleep; or even better, go to sleep. But it was hard to think about sleep when his cheeks were aching from trying to stop himself smiling.

Dejectedly, he wrapped his hands over his head. It did nothing, but helped him pretend that Satsuki wasn't sneaking him delighted looks.

Ugh. What was his fucking _problem_? Why was he feeling so damn _weird_?

Oh that was right, he'd been _thinking_.

When had that started again?

…Right…Probably about the time he realised he wanted to have sex with Kagami.

In hindsight, he should've known Kise was up to something. Kise was always up to something. Actually, he _had_ known, and he hadn't listened to his gut. And because he hadn't listened, he had wound up with his naked body draped across Kagami's equally naked body, in a bath…with their friends.

It was perhaps a little funny that despite all that he and Kagami had done, Aomine had never thought of the guy _sexually_ –up until that moment, that was. Somewhere in his mind, there had always been that little shred of sanity that reminded him that he like _females_. It had been that little thought that had ensured that he was detached from what he was doing with-slash-to Kagami –ensured that the possibility of having sex with him had never crossed his mind.

But, as he drank in the sensation of his hips pressed against a firm ass, and Kagami looked over his shoulder at him with _those eyes_ –those _tempting_, very inviting eyes…that thought completely dissolved…and he found himself repressing the urge to grind, and touch and just take him right there.

_Fuck he feels good..._

He knew well what desire felt like. Kagami might kind of think he was all talk, but he'd been with women; a couple at least. He knew what lust was, and that was definitely what was coursing through his veins right now –and not the ones in his brain, which was probably where the blood should've been going.

Maybe that would've solved everything.

A moan had begun brewing in the back of his throat as he shifted slightly, feeling himself slip up between the curves of Kagami's ass as his knee accidentally –_was it really accidentally_ –nudged the redhead's legs wider. Kagami's eyes had fluttered closed at the sensation –just for a moment.

_You like that, do you_? Aomine's inner pervert rumbled approvingly and he'd nearly kissed him right then; drawn in by the laboured breaths being panted from between those familiar lips. With Kagami's hands clutching at the bath's edge just so, and his skin arched so deliciously up into his…he had started feeling really…_weird_…and reason had started to flee.

But then, it had come hurtling back to him when Kagami's eyes snapped open; the haze completely vanished, and panic in its place. With that look, Aomine had suddenly realised just what he had been considering, and flung himself away from the other man and into the sweet solitude of underwater.

In the few moments of that blissful silence, the cogs in his brain began spinning uncontrollably, and he felt so lightheaded that he thought he might pass out. His own heart was thudding violently in his chest as his own panic began to rise.

By the time he'd broken the surface, Kagami was already gone, but he was okay with that. He'd said something –couldn't remember what, since his mind and his body were numb with horror. With almost exaggerated ease, he clambered out of the bath and grabbed his towel. He knew he was good at pulling off appearing unruffled, and he hoped and prayed that this time was just like any other. Slowly, he wrapped his towel around his waist, and stalked off without another word.

But inside, he was _freaking out_.

He was freaking out like he'd never freaked out before.

_He had genuinely wanted to fuck Kagami_. _Kagami_. A guy. His rival.

In the safety of his room, he just sat there against the wall, his eyes wide with horror and his body physically shaking as he tried to get a hold of himself. He had to think; had to try and slow down the thoughts that were destroying his mind right now.

But thinking led to far less pleasant things.

_He'd frozen_. It was that simple. Normal reflexes dictated that should he, a straight male, wind up in a situation where he was naked and pressed against another naked man, he should leap back immediately with a curse and perhaps a variation of 'fuck, that wasn't meant to happen, Kise, you're a bastard'. But that hadn't happened.

Drawn in by just _everything_ –the feel of Kagami's flesh, the sound of his breathing, the look in his eyes –he hadn't been able to pull away.

And that was terrifying. Confusing and terrifying.

It was terrifying because in that moment, the line between real and fake had blurred. He'd thought –he'd _known_ –that this whole thing with Kagami wasn't real. It was a game, to be played, and that was all. But being up against Kagami so intimately, it hadn't felt fake. The lust was real; the desire was real; the urge –the _need_ –to close the gap and kiss him was real –like something that he just couldn't resist.

Because if it was all so fake to him, why couldn't he pull back? Why didn't he tear away as soon as he discovered what he'd landed on? He _should've_. He should've been able to scoff it off, get to his feet and punch Kise for being an asshole. If it had been, say, Kise himself that he'd fallen on, he knew without a doubt that he probably would've stood up; elbowed the guy in the head, and moved to continue with his bath.

He knew their friends thought he'd made a perfect recovery from something like that –but he hadn't. A perfect recovery would've been pretending that nothing happened. By his very stalking from the room, even appearing as unruffled as he did, he'd admitted –at least to himself –that something was very, very wrong.

Most of what had happened with Kagami he could brush off –because it wasn't real. It didn't matter, so it didn't bother him. _This _bothered him, which meant it mattered.

Aomine clutched at his head, in the hopes that that would still his spinning thoughts. No matter how he tried to look at it, he'd suddenly realised that he _wanted_ Kagami. Seeing him…_presented_ like that…something inside him had snapped. He had almost completely lost control of himself…if he had closed that gap between him, that last shred of sanity would've been gone.

He let out a low breath, trying to calm the panic. Okay, so he had wanted to just take Kagami then and there…it could've just been one of those momentary lapses in judgement he seemed to have. It _could_ be nothing. Okay, it maybe wasn't nothing but…

He wasn't making sense even to himself.

But the more he managed to calm down, the more that sliver of a thought that pointed out '_Kagami's a guy. You're into girls_' began to return –and the more the defence of 'temporary insanity' began to sound plausible. Because there was no way he _actually_ wanted to have sex with the _guy_, right?

For just a brief moment –a very brief moment, he entertained the thought that maybe he could be attracted to guys as well as girls. But even the _notion_ of being in the same situation with Kise, or Wakamatsu, or Kiyoshi, or even Kuroko made him cringe and want to scrub such images from his eyes. It didn't make sense. If it wasn't the situation, and he wasn't just a general attraction to guys, then what…

"Aomine-kun!" Satsuki's voice called from the door –having found it locked, "Are you getting ready?"

"No." He could practically hear her pouting.

"Well, Kagamin needs to borrow your spare shirt," she called out lightly. Somehow, even just hearing his name brought back that mental image of him pressing Kagami up against the bath; his lust-glazed eyes practically begging him to kiss him. He made an annoyed growl as his breath caught in his throat, and jammed his hands over his eyes as though that would sear the inviting picture from his brain.

It didn't work.

"Is something wrong?" Satsuki chirped, her voice sounding worried, "Aomine-kun, are you okay? Answer me…Do I need to get Wakamatsu-san to kick down the door –"

"Nothing's wrong," he lied flatly, and from the silence that followed, she obviously didn't believe him. "…Do I _have_ to go –"

"Yes." And that was the final word on the matter.

Well, he still had to go on this fucking date –_poor choice of phrasing_ –but he could use the completely non-sexual environment to convince himself that Kagami was no different from the others; that he should be stamped with the 'would not bang' status.

* * *

That proved to be more difficult than he'd anticipated.

Aomine, having quelled down panic by convincing himself that there was _some_ kind of mistake, spent the majority of their awkward dinner in silence; just watching Kagami, wondering what it was about him that made him lose control. Just sitting there, comically trying to eat without getting too much food on his face, he just seemed like any other guy. What the hell was it about him that had made his body decide that he was maybe sexually desirable?

_He's nothing like a girl_, his logical brain was saying as his eyes skated across Kagami's burly shoulders and muscled frame. _He doesn't have boobs…or nice hips… _

…But he has soft skin…and a nice ass, he argued with himself.

_He's almost as big as me. Not my type. _Aomine tried to imagine being with a woman of Kagami's stature and wrinkled his nose. No, he liked slim girls with big breasts.

But fuck, I bet he could take a pounding…the other half of his mind admitted, and Aomine almost spat out his water that such a thought had crossed his mind. Thankfully, Kagami was too busy focusing on not spilling anything to notice –and the bluenette thanked the lord for his blessed poker face.

_His face looks stupid. He's not pretty_, he remarked inwardly, inclining his head quizzically as Kagami looked up at him, a smudge of food beneath his lower lip. Apparently catching Aomine looking at him, he graced him with a sheepish grin. _That stupid grin…_His heart fluttered slightly. Okay, his face wasn't _ugly…_it was kinda symmetrical at least... Those eyebrows were fucking weird…

And he has a huge mouth, he was forced to acknowledge slyly…and he's quite a good kisser…

_He's an idiot_. But then again, so were most of the girls he went for.

_He eats like a fucking slob_. Aomine found he didn't mind.

_He's annoying_. Is he really? The bluenette found his brow furrowing in annoyance as he fought this inner battle with himself. This wasn't helping.

_He thinks he's better than me._ Well, he did like a challenge, after all.

_He really thinks he can dominate me…_well, that wasn't too bad…kinda hot sometimes, actually…

Nope, nope, nope, he was not letting that train of thought continue. Blue eyes skated across Kagami's figure and he resisted the urge to scoff. The guy had zero of the physical attributes he found attractive in a partner.

_Hair's too short._ Long enough to grip, though…

_Too much muscle. _Not that he'd been looking…

_He dressed bad._ That was a straight up lie. Kagami often wore _his_ clothes anyway. He currently was –and he kind of liked it. Ugh, he was meant to be trying to analyse what had caused his momentary lapse in judgement in the bath, not criticising his dress sense. Was he clutching at straws, or what? And yet, he continued to tell himself that he'd just...blacked out a little...because a fearless man like Aomine Daiki preferred denial over admitting nervousness.

Tilting his head a little more quizzically, he distractedly continued eating but didn't really taste it. Instead, he found himself drawn to the lips of the other man; lips that he'd felt on his probably far too frequently…

He scolded his wandering mind as a mental image of a once-again naked Kagami sprang to mind; this time on his back with his long legs spread lewdly before him. Aomine swallowed at the strangely enticing image and unconsciously licked his lips as he pictured the aroused faces the redhead would make in the bedroom. Would Kagami scream his name? Who was he kidding, of course he would –Aomine would make damn sure of –_no, he was _not_ fantasizing about _Kagami.

For fuck's sake…

He shifted uncomfortably. Any way he looked at it, Kagami shouldn't be desirable to him. He had the same body as himself –okay, not a good example, he knew he was hot shit –okay, he had the same build as…_Kiyoshi_. He didn't want to have sex with _him_.

So what was it?

* * *

"Aomine-kun?" Satsuki's voice sighed in exasperation, and he opened an eye to look up at her. She had her hands on her hips. Was he in trouble? "Aomine-kun! Class is over!" He looked at the clock, and was surprised to find that class had managed to fly by, and school was finished for the day. That meant…

He got up from his seat with perhaps a little too much energy.

"…Excited about seeing Kagamin?" Satsuki giggled to herself, and he practically stumbled guiltily. He glared at her, but she waved off his denial with a, "…We're all going to watch Seirin's practice match, don't worry. You can pretend that you didn't want to come…"

Aomine sulked. No he couldn't. Not with that text he'd sent Kagami…

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, as Sakurai joined them in the hallway and the three of them went to meet up with the older team members en route to the bus stop. "You were smiling in your sleep."

"…Nothing," he sniffed, averting his eyes in a bored tone.

"…Liar, liar," Sakurai commented, and then cowered under a mountain of apologies as Aomine glared at him furiously. Tch, hell, he must be a worse liar than he thought for _him_ to be pulling him up on it. How humiliating.

The worst part was that even though Sakurai was spouting out apologies, both he and that scheming, pink-haired witch beside him were looking at him with unnervingly _knowing_ looks as though able to tell that he'd been dreaming about Kagami.

The only thing that made that any better was the fact that they had no idea about the content of the dreams. How could they? Only he and Kagami had been there.

He'd been dreaming about the beach. Actually, he'd been dreaming about the beach often. Ever since that night, every time he closed his eyes and let himself drift off into sleep, he'd find himself reliving that scene. More than a dream; it was a flashback.

* * *

_"God, you're so easy to wind up sometimes, Ahomine…_"

_Aomine couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he heard his shoes tumble into the sand at the bottom of the bank. He rubbed at the sand on his face and turned to look across at Kagami. The redhead was grinning that ridiculous grin, same as always, but then, as he stared, he felt something wash over him, and his eyes narrowed in interest and insecurity with this foreign feeling. _

_Without even realising it, he began to lean forwards, his face growing serious. He stared into Kagami's eyes, wondering for the thousandth time what the hell was wrong with him. But he didn't stop, because, like usual, when it came to Kagami, he just couldn't help himself. _

_This time, he kissed him slow; just to see what it was like, and because that felt right. _

_It left him breathless; so breathless that he reached up and gripped Kagami's cheek to have something to cling to. There was something about this kiss; something intimate and soft that he'd never experienced before. _

_As his tongue slowly pressed between Kagami's eagerly parting lips, he found himself pushing him back into the sand and shifting to hover over him. His head was already swimming with that familiar rush that he had always associated with basketball –thoughts leaving him. _

_Almost everything ceased to matter. It didn't matter that he shouldn't be attracted to Kagami. It didn't matter that he thought of himself as straight. All that mattered was that he was kissing him and wanted to keep kissing him –wanted to feel this rush that he craved. He wanted to touch him. _

_Hands moving with the teasing caresses of a lover, his hands ghosted down Kagami's skin. The night was warm and slow, and he would later tell himself that that set the mood. It was the night air that had made him crazy –the cliché moonlit beach scene that had given him the urge to kiss him. _

_Maybe it _was_ the moonlight. Maybe it was the memory of their skin touching. Aomine didn't know, but there was _something_ that made his hands trail to Kagami's shirt and slowly begin to pluck the buttons open. The redhead had reacted to that; eyes glazed with the ambience of the night, but still laced with a small trace of concern, worry, _fear? _He hadn't known what it was, but he had been so taken by the atmosphere and the thrill of what they were doing that all he could do was stare back at him; enthralled. And something that Kagami had seen, or thought he'd seen, in his eyes, had made him surrender. _

_Kagami's skin was warm, and soft, and Aomine quickly became fascinated with it. Knowing it was a weakness, his fingers had teased at a nipple until the redhead was arching up into him and his breath hitching like crazy. Some madness, or something, had taken over Aomine –something about the way Kagami was panting beneath him, but he found his lips trailing across Kagami's jaw and down his throat; driven by the overwhelming desire to mark him. _

_He'd heard Kagami breathe his name then, as he left his mark –but he hushed him urgently; as though, somewhere in the back of his mind, he was worried that words would drag him back to his senses. _

_And he found himself rather enjoying being lost. _

_The compulsion to touch grew stronger, and his hands coursed across Kagami's body; memorising the lines of his body. He relished the way he could make him so breathless. A hand stroked sensually through the redhead's hair, and elicited an approving rumble. _

_He really did purr. _

_One of his hands strayed to Kagami's thigh; so very tempted to rise into new territory, but he restrained himself –kissing him harder, chest constricting as Kagami slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Whatever he was feeling felt foreign. It was heated, and it was passionate…but it was not like basketball. _

_That confused him. Why was that high that he got from playing, and from kissing Kagami with the same aggression and all-consuming fire as playing, still coursing through him…when what they were doing now was so very different? _

_Suddenly uneasy, Aomine began pulling back, pressing long, languid kisses against Kagami's lips; savouring the feel and the taste as he never had before. Their gazes locked, he pulled back to his haunches and stared down at the man beneath him. _

_His heart was pounding so loudly he could've sworn Kagami could hear it. His skin was burning wherever Kagami had touched; he was feeling lightheaded and…and _strange.

_As he peered down at Kagami, sprawling dishevelled in the sand, with red eyes glinting up at him; glazed, but still with such focus, he couldn't help but feel _something_, and he didn't know quite what that was. He wanted to descend again; to claim those lips; mark that skin and touch him –and from the look in the other ace's eyes…he probably would've let him. _

_But instead, with a rather bubbling feeling in his stomach, he stood up and turned away. _

* * *

The image of Kagami lying there in the sand under him was branded into Aomine's memory as well as the one of him sprawled there in the bath. Even looking back at the memory he had an almost sick sense of satisfaction at seeing Kagami's neck marred with the marks of his lips and teeth. It had been a thoroughly inviting picture; the redhead with his hands gripping the sand as if it was all that held him to reality, with his shirt askew to reveal a heaving chest, and his swollen lips parted; a warm tongue tracing along them almost seductively.

And he kept dreaming about it.

It was that night, and those dreams, that had made him distance himself from Kagami this last week. Obviously spending too much time with the guy was bad for his mental health, so he'd decided that distance was the cure.

"I'm glad you're happy again, Aomine-kun," Satsuki was saying as they spotted Imayoshi and Wakamatsu waving them over so that they could all make their way to Seirin together. "You've been all sad and sulky this week."

"Tch, whatever you say," he scoffed, blinking away the memory of his most recent dream when he realised that she and Sakurai had watched him phase out of conversation and into his thoughts for a moment.

"I take it you made up with Kagamin, then?" she queried, and he glared at her rather crossly.

"Like hell," he scoffed, "What's that supposed to mean?" Satsuki just giggled at the look on his face.

"Well, this week you got all defensive whenever we mentioned him," she informed him lightly –her voice sounding far too innocent for him to be comfortable with. "We were worried something had happened."

"Who is _we_?" he inquired darkly.

"The team, of course," she tittered, but he had the feeling she wasn't being entirely honest.

Not that he cared.

" –But since you were smiling in class today, you two are okay again, I suppose," she laughed and he wrinkled his nose disdainfully. That woman…she had a knack for knowing things she ought not to, and he knew as well as anyone that it was dangerous having her as an opponent.

And Aomine, for some reason, had felt for a while now, that he was very definitely playing against her. Or rather, playing right into her hands. It was unnerving –mostly because he didn't know what game they were playing.

"I wasn't smiling," he snapped flatly, "…And nothing happened."

" –Ahh, the sweet smell of denial," Imayoshi remarked slyly, and Aomine scowled his most distasteful scowl at his captain. "…What's he talking about, hmm?" Aomine tuned out as Satsuki immediately launched into her conspiracy theory about he and Kagami fighting, which was why he'd been sulking all week –_not that he had been_ –and now they'd made up, which was why he was smiling in class. Of course, this explanation was embellished with a lot more squeals.

Okay, so he'd been in a bad mood this week –but only because he wanted to play basketball –wanted to play basketball with _Kagami_. But since he was still feeling a bit weird, he'd decided to pass whenever the other ace flicked him a text.

It wasn't like he missed hanging out with him or anything. He'd just been bored out of his mind when Kagami had invited him over for video games, so he'd accepted. And then he'd run into those people from school and gotten distracted –mostly because he'd hoped that spending some time with some girls completely his type would remind him that it was _them_ who he was sexually attracted to, and not his six-foot-something, loud idiot of a rival.

Things had been going…_okay_…the girls were annoying him for some reason and he just wasn't feeling any kind of attraction to them –which was weird. Then Kagami had turned up and started making a fucking scene…and Aomine had found himself actually getting cross and annoyed…and then the idiot went and stormed out, and he'd felt…

_Guilty_.

He'd felt fucking guilty and he hated it. He hated it because it made him pissed at himself –and he hated that. It made him feel like _he_ was the bad guy. It made him feel like he cared what Kagami thought –which he didn't. Obviously.

Despite that…something had possessed him to go to Kagami's. He told himself that it was because the girls were annoying and the conversation totally boring…but that wasn't really the reason and he knew it. Without even really thinking about it, heading to Kagami's just seemed like what he should do. And so he'd gone –denying that it was to make it up to him; because that would mean apologising, and he didn't do apologising.

He'd found the cold food on the bench and understood why Kagami had gotten mad. He was loath to admit that when he realised that he'd actually intended to surprise him with dinner, he was actually a little happy…which in turn made him feel like an asshole…which in turn made him annoyed. Stupid Bakagami! He should've just flat out said he'd planned something!

The thought that Kagami had gone into the effort of making them dinner –his favourite, no less –made his heart flutter in a way that he chose to interpret as a sign of an underlying health problem and nothing else. Maybe indigestion.

He hadn't meant to stay that late –he'd just fallen asleep on Kagami's bed. He didn't go in there much; they usually hung out in the living room. But there was still just something so familiar about the environment that lulled him right to sleep. And then when Kagami had finally gotten back, he'd just got all mad…and Aomine (though he hadn't shown it) was worried he might _actually_ get kicked out this time.

But no…the idiot had just figured out that him turning up was _kind of_ like an apology…and then offered him a spot in his bed.

Aomine didn't make a habit of sharing beds with other guys…especially ones that in a bout of insanity decided he wanted to fuck, and had recently been having flashbacks over…but the couch was fucking uncomfortable.

And so he'd ended up in Kagami's bed. With him. Spooning him. Well, that was an accident that had obviously occurred when he'd rolled over in the middle of the night. At least it had indicated that he wasn't rabidly in lust with the guy –as shown by how he had _not_ ravished him in his sleep.

It didn't explain why when he'd woken with Kagami's alarm, he'd just lain there with his arm wrapped around him. It was just comfortable, he told himself. Comfy, and warm, and Kagami kinda fitted well against him. That, and it was hilarious pretending to be asleep and feeling him try and wrestle away from him.

Satsuki had said he seemed in a good mood that morning. But really, how could he not be? There was promise of a one-on-one, and Kagami had made him breakfast, and even the goodbye kiss he'd gotten hadn't been too bad. It had stunned him a bit, coz Kagami had been a bit jumpy all morning…but he hadn't _minded_. He'd felt that heart murmur playing up a bit after that, too.

* * *

"Shutoku's here too?" Imayoshi remarked in surprise when Touou turned up at Seirin's gym as they finished warming up –their opponents looking pretty pumped already. Aomine was pretty sure he recognised this team –the one that specialised in steals. Their game with Seirin had been the first one that Satsuki had dragged him along to when he and Kagami started 'dating'.

"Just Takao and Midorima," Hyuga informed him as he jogged past, "I invited them."

"Oh really?" Imayoshi remarked with a raised eyebrow, "…And here I thought I was special…" Hyuga immediately glared at him hotly and Satsuki scolded the captain for making fun of him.

"Yo," Aomine greeted Kagami flatly as they wandered over to sit with Takao and Midorima. Takao was playing with Nigou –much to his boyfriend's displeasure. Kagami turned at the sound of Aomine's voice and his face broke out into one of those competitive grins he often wore. But there was a bit of _embarrassment_ to his expression that strangely made Aomine's chest tight all over again.

"Uhh…good to…see you…" Kagami coughed out in greeting. In the background, Kuroko and Riko both rolled their eyes, and before he could blush or anything, he'd jogged back out to the court.

"…What was that about?" Takao raised an eyebrow curiously as Aomine leaned against the wall detachedly.

"Nothing," he snorted flatly. "How'd you get Midorima to come?"

" –Well you _see_…" Takao began to explain with an all-too familiar wicked glint in his eyes.

"_Takao_, _you know that's not what he meant_," Midorima growled darkly with a touch of embarrassment, "…He forced me along here today. He was pulling the cart, after all." Aomine suddenly realised what Takao had been about to launch into and actually found his cheeks heating up slightly. That's right…Takao and Midorima would've had…

The game was going pretty well for Seirin. The other team was definitely having more trouble this time around. Kagami definitely had his head in the game today and was pulling off some crazy dunks. Touou, plus Takao and occasionally Midorima, took it upon themselves to call out corrections and backhanded compliments mixed in with their support.

"I could've sworn you were faster, Hyuga," Imayoshi hollered lightly. Immediately, Seirin's captain turned and rather unprofessionally flicked him his middle finger. The teammates on the bench all 'oohed' at their captain getting riled up and were subsequently glared at. Aomine would've contributed a smirk, but he was finding himself increasingly…_distracted_.

Since the whole bath thing, beach thing…and just general vacation _incidents_, Aomine hadn't played much one-on-one with Kagami, and hadn't seen him play from the side-lines…which might've been why he was currently engrossed in the other ace's game.

Though he was coming to realise that his attention was relatively equally divided between his game and _him_.

Despite himself, he found himself actually_ checking out Kagami_ –remembering the way those rippling muscles had felt to touch.

Fuck, seriously, what was his problem? Why did he just keep thinking about Kagami _that way_? Scowling to himself, he practically glared at the redhead, as though it was entirely _his_ fault that Aomine had suddenly lumped him into the 'sexually desirable' category.

_Tch, why the hell am I staring at this guy anyway? He's just some other dude! His body's not even _that_ impressive –hmm…nice drive…those shorts do nothing for his ass…okay that dunk wasn't _too_ bad –fuck, is he smiling at me? _

Aomine averted his eyes as Kagami apparently glanced over towards him with a triumphant grin as if to say '_how do you like _that_?'_ He felt his throat run dry and ran a hand across his suddenly slightly sweating forehead and then rubbed his chest as he felt his heart skipping a beat, "Satsuki…make me a doctor's appointment," he demanded flatly.

"What for? Aren't you feeling well, Aomine-kun?" she quickly inquired; her voice thick with worry. "What's wrong?"

"…My chest," Aomine muttered, "…It's all…feels uncomfortable." Momoi, who had been watching Aomine's gaze follow Kagami across the court, squealed inwardly and just pulled out her phone to keep her composure. Takao caught her eye as she quickly sent texts to Kuroko, Riko and Kise, saying _Kagamin makes Aomine's heart flutter! _

"…You know," Takao commented thoughtfully, "I wonder if it's the same thing _you_ had, Shin-chan?"

"Don't start…" Midorima warned.

" –Any other symptoms?" the point guard inquired slyly as Aomine looked intrigued.

"Fever…" he drawled flatly, "…Temporary insanity. Nausea…hot flushes…" Momoi very quickly buried her face in her hands as Takao bit his lip with a quick look at his boyfriend.

"_Definitely_ sounds like what Shin-chan had," he managed to splutter out with a straight face.

"Really?" Aomine raised an eyebrow, "What fixed it?"

" –Oh, I just.._.took care of him_…" Takao replied lightly, and Midorima facepalmed in embarrassment, since everyone apart from Aomine –who was either oblivious or desperately grasping at straws. "…Maybe you should ask Kagami to…take care of you…"

"Takao, behave," Midorima scolded flatly as the whistle went for half time. The Seirin players headed for the bench and Riko quickly checked her phone; inadvertently letting out a delighted squeal as soon as she saw Momoi's message. Of course, that earned her some curious looks, but she just waved them away with a 'mind your own business'. (Kiyoshi had had a few mutters to say about that...)

"Ahh, Aomine," Takao suddenly remarked casually, "…The other team's manager seems to have a bit of an eye on your boyfriend." He nodded across at the female on the other side of the court who was currently conversing with her team's coach whilst also flicking very intrigued glances at Seirin's ace.

"What?" Aomine growled flatly, his eyes immediately locating the young woman and seeing that _indeed_, her eyes were glancing rather appreciatively at _his_ Kagami. Blue eyes narrowed as he watched Kagami catch sight of the girl watching him. She smiled, and he grinned back, and Aomine's expression clouded over.

He didn't like her.

He wasn't sure why. She was kinda big-breasted and seemed like a good manager.

But he straight up did not like her.

"Nice last dunk," Takao called out as Kagami wandered over; thankful for the break. "Aomine…couldn't take his eyes off you –I mean _it_…" Kagami's eyes lit up and he quirked a smug eyebrow.

"Is that so?" he gloated.

"In your dreams, idiot," he scoffed.

"And in reality, bastard."

"….Oh, so you dream about me?" Aomine remarked with a smirk. The words escaped before he could even think.

"…_That's not what I meant_!" Kagami immediately snapped, with heat rising to his cheeks.

"You're a very bad liar, Kagami…" Imayoshi commented from nearby; earning a glower from the redhead, who was currently receiving a thoroughly intrigued look from Aomine. What kind of dreams did Kagami have about him?

"I'm not lying! I just –" Kagami exclaimed hotly in defence of himself, about to take a step forwards, when, Nigou, taking a page from his master's book, suddenly appeared underfoot and caused him to lose his balance as he yelped in fright.

Nigou quickly scampered back to the bench with a brief bark as Kagami stumbled forwards.

The bounds of Kagami's clumsiness never failed to surprise Aomine –and this was no exception. Leaning against the wall, he suddenly found himself with the other ace pressed flush against his chest…and found that his hands were planted quite firmly on Kagami's ass.

Aomine just stood there for a moment; blinking in stunned silence as he processed the situation. He could practically hear Kagami's brain ticking away at the same speed as his. But his seemed to realise what was happening first, and with a wicked quirk of an eyebrow and a glare across at that chick he now hated, gave Kagami's ass an experimental squeeze.

The reaction was immediate.

With a shocked exclamation, Kagami lurched forwards, away from his touch, but just wound up just pressing himself more firmly against Aomine's body. Eyes glanced in their direction and Kagami glared at the bluenette in embarrassment –not sure if he should try bat his hands away or tug himself free or…

Aomine didn't give him long enough to plan an escape route. Kagami's lips were far too close to his, and that chick was still _watching_ –as though his hands on his ass hadn't been enough of a message.

With exaggerated slowness, Aomine leaned forwards and pressed his lips against Kagami's in a deep, sensual kiss; forcing his lips open and letting his tongue rove onwards to tease the redhead's out to play. As he did so, he tugged Kagami closer by his ass and hummed in approval as the redhead let out a soft, aroused sound.

God, as much as he didn't want to acknowledge it, that was music to his ears.

Seirin's opponents catcalled.

The kiss was as steamy as ever; Aomine using it as an outlet for all the weird frustration he'd been feeling recently. His hands gripped Kagami's ass a little harder; fingers kneading into the firm flesh. Kagami gasped –whether in pleasure or embarrassment, or a mix of both, he wasn't sure –but that did allow Aomine to swipe his tongue deeper and elicit an approving rumble from Kagami's throat.

Their lips met hungrily, as though craving each other's taste. Kagami's hands clenched into fists as he felt his hips being forced more firmly against Aomine's by the wicked hands on his backside. He almost let out a disapproving whimper when the bluenette's tongue began trailing back into his own mouth and let his own follow it. If Aomine was startled by the boldness, he didn't react and certainly didn't protest.

Seirin and Touou just watched; completely gobsmacked by this sight of Aomine and Kagami making out against a wall with Aomine practically forcing Kagami to grind on him. By the look of it, he was rather enjoying grabbing a fistful of the redhead's ass…and Kagami, who had initially seemed horrified, was no longer protesting.

"A spray bottle might be in order," Midorima deadpanned as one of Aomine's thighs oh-so-casually slipped between Kagami's, and what appeared to be a war of tongues started up. Kagami's shoulders were heaving as he fought Aomine with his lips and found his lower half trapped between Aomine's hands and his hips.

"Coach…" Kuroko spluttered quietly, only to find a tissue already being held out to him. He gratefully started wadding up his currently bleeding nose and glanced across to see that Riko had already done much the same thing.

"Ahh, Aomine seems to be a tad possessive," Kiyoshi commented with a chuckle from nearby. The whole team, minus the oblivious Kagami, had noticed their opponent's manager's interest in their ace –and had been very amused when it became apparent that finally Aomine had noticed too. "Careful Kuroko," he joked, "Or he might actually take Kagami!"

"…Well, as long as I can watch…"

"What?" Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Kuroko repeated innocently.

" –Good dog…" Takao commented slyly to Nigou, as the dog jumped up beside him with a playful bark. Midorima, Momoi and Imayoshi all eyed the point guard suspiciously.

"…What did you do?" Midorima deadpanned.

"Shin-chan! I'm _so_ offended that you'd think I did something!" Takao scoffed, feigning insulted. His boyfriend didn't buy it for a second; just glanced pointedly over to where Aomine was finally pulling back from a thoroughly breathless Kagami.

Aomine smirked to himself as he pressed a last, hot kiss against Kagami's lips; lidded eyes practically oozing triumph. When Kagami let out a shaking breath, the bluenette teasingly caught his lower lip between his teeth and tugged at it lightly; savouring that shudder that he felt run through the other ace's body. The air around them was radiating some kind of heat as they let out shaky breaths, gazes locked. God, fucking hell, he just couldn't stop himself sometimes.

"…They seem…_different_…" Midorima remarked.

"What? Like, say…they've finally been introduced to the idea of sexual tension?" Takao guessed innocently, looking at his fingernails as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

"…What did you do?" he repeated flatly.

"Nothing," he replied simply, and then could help but chuckle wickedly, "…You might say…we gave them a little…_push_…"

" –_Bastard_!" Kagami hissed as he suddenly was drawn back to his senses with colour rising to his cheeks. He wrenched backwards and jabbed a finger at Aomine's chest, "Don't distract me!"

"Oh, you find me distracting?" Aomine mocked smugly. Again, Kagami let out some poor, embarrassed excuse for a comeback and just settled with a glare.

"It's official," Imayoshi deadpanned, "…They're flirting."

"…Have you _ever_ flirted with someone?" Hyuga sighed flatly as he tried to shepherd attention back to the game that was meant to be restarting shortly. Imayoshi chuckled to himself. "_That_…" He glanced over and an eyebrow twitched in annoyance as it seemed that Aomine was rather smugly saying something about maybe he should just leave, if Kagami was getting so distracted…to which Kagami vehemently claimed that Aomine was _absolutely not_ a distraction, so he didn't have to go…

"Okay…yeah," he admitted dryly.

" –Tch…entertain me, Kagami. I'm bored," Aomine drawled with a dramatic yawn. Kagami squared his shoulders and huffed in annoyance, but cricked his neck nonetheless.

"Fine," he sniffed, "The next dunk's for you, got that?"

"And the next, and the next," he snorted obnoxiously. "…Just for me, Kagami…" There was a moment then, after he uttered those words, that Kagami looked back over his shoulder, his grin softening slightly into something that Aomine didn't quite understand.

"…Yeah…" he muttered, in a tone that could've been disgruntled, if it hadn't been for the chuckle in his eyes and the smirk on his face. And just like that, as he felt a surge of a familiar rush reigniting after it had died down post-make-out, Aomine was hit was a suddenly realisation.

Perhaps maybe he'd realised back on the beach. He never had figured out why exactly he'd pulled back, but perhaps, deep down, this was the reason. Perhaps, sitting there and staring down at Kagami, he'd understood, and been terrified -and, not willing to accept fear and nervousness, he'd repressed that very thought.

That rush? That addictive rush that he got whenever he played basketball against Kagami? That same rush that he felt when he kissed him? He'd always associated it with basketball –because up until that point, he had kissed Kagami with that same kind of heat, energy and focus that he played against him with. But on the beach, it had been slow, almost unbearably intimate…not basketball. And yet…the feeling coursing through his system was the same.

He'd been associating that rush with basketball, when really...he should've associated it with _Kagami_.

Did this mean that maybe…everything that…

He clutched at his chest; the left side hammering as if to serve as the drum roll until the penny dropped.

_Fuck. No way. Not even possible. _

"But Shin-chan…"

"No, Takao. You have no right to meddle."

"But seriously –"

" –Don't bother trying anything tonight," Midorima sniffed flatly, and Takao's expression fell slightly as he recognised his boyfriend's 'you misbehaved, so no sex –tough luck', but for a change, he didn't protest. Midorima, having expected public outrage at his comment, actually raised an eyebrow. Takao just met his gaze and the shooting guard frowned slightly. He was sticking to his point…did that mean that Takao truly believed that he (and he assumed Kise, because pushing Aomine's buttons and causing trouble seemed like a Kise thing to do) had done the right thing…in somehow forcing or tricking Kagami and Aomine into acknowledging that there was something not-so-platonic about their fake relationship?

"…Scold all you like, Shin-chan…" Takao sniffed, though he did sound a little glum at the knowledge that Midorima was going to hold out on him. The point guard nodded over to where the game had restarted, and Kagami had upped Seirin's lead with a spectacular dunk –and a triumphant grin over at an unusually shell-shocked and disbelieving Aomine.

"…But really, you still think it's the world that we should be convincing it's real?"

* * *

**Phew. That took a while to find the right words, so I apologise for the later-than-usual update. Takao's a little shit but I love him so damn much. I so very much hope you enjoyed Aomine's thoughts and idiocy that have come to be associated with he and dear Kagami -as well as a spattering of cute moments.**

I have...plans...for future chapters.  
Much love!  
xx K


	16. Chapter 16

**I do apologise for slower-than-usual updates for these past few chapters; I'm getting ready to head back to university, so it's been a bit more difficult to organise my thoughts. But here is the next chapter for you all, so thank you so very much for continuing to read. **

* * *

"Aomine-kun, hurry up! We're going to be late," Momoi sighed. She rapped sharply on Aomine's bedroom door and tried the doorknob. It was locked. "Stop sulking and get ready!"

"I'm not going," he drawled in a bored tone as he lounged, shirtless, on his bed. She knocked again; more insistent this time, "Go away." She made an annoyed noise and refused to back down.

"Don't make me get your mother," she threatened crossly, "It's Ki-chan's birthday dinner, and we're all meeting up especially! And your boyfriend will be there, and you've been avoiding him! _Again_." She folded her arms across her chest and quickly checked the time on her phone. Oh, they were going to be so late! Kise had been so looking forward to seeing them! Not to mention, she just _knew_ Kuroko was going to look adorable tonight!

"He's not my boyfriend," Aomine droned back, rolling over on his bed and jamming a pillow over his ears so he wouldn't have to listen to her complain. "…And if I don't want to hang out with him, then I won't."

"You can be such a child," she complained with another dramatic sigh. "Everyone's going to be there –"

"Rakuzan won't be," came the muffled response.

" –They never come," she reminded him, "Ki-chan and Kaijo are going to be there, and Midorin and Takao-kun with Shutoku…_Yosen might be there_…" She added this with a touch of knowing to her voice, and there was a slight pause. She could practically feel Aomine's annoyance radiating out from underneath the door.

"…So?" He was definitely trying hard to sound indifferent, but it had come out sounding a little pissed off. She resisted the urge to giggle to herself, because she knew that would just make him even less willing to get ready.

"Come on, Aomine-kun," she begged, "_Please_? Kagamin misses you, I know he does. Tetsu-kun says he looks so sad when you blow him off…"

"Why should I care about that?" he snapped back –just a little too quickly. "I couldn't be bothered hanging out with him."

Okay, so Aomine was lying through his teeth. He was _definitely_ avoiding Kagami; had been for about two weeks now, and he knew he was an idiot to pretend otherwise. But there were benefits to being an idiot; it meant that he could keep swimming in the sweet waters of denial; denying that perhaps, just perhaps, there was something real to his fake relationship with Kagami; at least on his part. Distance, like last time, had been his go-to solution, but he didn't like it, and he didn't like that that showed.

Whenever Kagami text him asking to hang out, he'd make up some excuse –some of them plausible, and some blatant lies. Like the last time he'd tried to distance himself, he was missing the one-on-ones, and found himself craving arguments and a healthy dose of insulting banter. But this time he stayed strong and didn't fold –because he hated the way that Kagami was making him feel.

…Like how his fucking heart had practically leapt up into his throat when she'd said that Kagami missed him –even if she'd been exaggerating. He wasn't even _around the guy_ and he still managed to have this weird effect on him.

He didn't like it...didn't like it at all.

A few minutes later, he heard something turning in the lock of his door and he groaned in protest as Momoi, having gained the key from his mother, practically broke in and began tossing him clothes to wear.

"…Get out of my room," he snapped, his eyes glowering at her. But, since she was apparently in that no-nonsense mood that females could wind up in when there was a dinner to get to, she was impervious. "Oi…don't just barge in…I could've been doing anything in here…" Usually she would've blushed at the implication and called him a pervert, but she currently had a one-track mind.

"Shirt, tie, pants, shoes," Momoi commanded; a woman on a mission as she tossed the items onto his bed –and therefore onto _him_. "You have fifteen minutes to shower, be changed and ready, or I'm giving your baby photos to Ki-chan." At that, Aomine's head bolted up from underneath his pillow and he looked back over his shoulder at her; wide-eyed.

"You wouldn't…" he growled darkly, as they both imagined Kise's exact reaction to being gifted with pictures of a toddler Aomine Daiki. It was a horrifying, squealing image, filled with 'kyaahs' and words like 'cute' and 'adorable' and probably phrases like 'you and Kagamicchi would have such cute babies'. That was a cruel, cruel card to play, and he hoped his glare informed her of that.

"…Wouldn't I?" she remarked lightly, "It's his birthday, after all." She giggled cheerfully, despite the death-glares she was currently getting. "And I'm sure Kagamin would _love _to see –"

"_Fine_, I'm going, I'm going!" he complained huffily, rolling off his bed and slouching sulkily as he grabbed his clothes and headed for the shower. She smiled happily as he muttered many mutinous things under his breath. So the threat of exposing baby photos had been pretty below the belt, but he was moping, Kagami was moping –they were being just big babies.

Well, perhaps not _moping_.

Two weeks. Two weeks the pair of them had been like this, and apparently for no reason. Poor Kagami didn't seem to know what was the matter, and why he was suddenly being ignored. He'd been distracted at practices, according to her sources (apparently Kuroko had started a tally on how many times he glanced at his phone), and it was obvious that Aomine missed hanging out with him. He ignored texts, wouldn't come along to Seirin's games, and his mood was even sulkier than the last time he had sort of been distancing himself from Kagami...Which was weird, because they'd been getting on so well recently.

After having made up after their little fight, and even before that, like while they were on vacation, Aomine had been smiling more. He'd been happy; he'd been laughing, and always up for some one-on-one, or just hanging out at Kagami's. They'd caused a bit of a scene at Seirin's practice game, but neither of them had seemed all that bothered by it. Everyone had been in high hopes that maybe the pair of them were going to wise-up...but then a couple of days later, Aomine started ignoring Kagami.

She couldn't think of why he had suddenly decided to turn so cold, except for one thing.

He'd started to feel.

And, having started to feel, he'd done what he always did, and tried to run.

She knew Aomine wasn't very good at relationships. He was a jerk to girls, more often than not, and, at the first sign of actual attachment from either party, bolted. He was so proud...and so self-absorbed sometimes... He could pretend all he liked that he was getting bored of Kagami, which was why he didn't want to be around him…but he was only lying to himself.

And the thing that was most intriguing was that he hadn't found it in his heart to end it. She knew as well as the other teams knew that the world was full of belief in their relationship. People were posting things like 'they're meant to be' and 'they'll be together forever' –and there were even rumours about the pair of them eloping. They could end this now –and if it was anyone else, Aomine probably would have, especially since he was acting like this…

But he hadn't.

Almost exactly fifteen minutes later, Aomine appeared at the bottom of the stairs in his dress pants and a neatly ironed navy blue dress shirt to match his hair. He was struggling his with tie, but Momoi decided she could live with that. He'd even put a little effort into making his hair look a little neater. She wondered if maybe he was secretly looking forward to seeing Kagami, but didn't dare mention it. He hadn't tucked his shirt in and had insisted on rolling up his sleeves, but he at least looked presentable.

"You look great," she tittered brightly, heading for the door while he struggled with his tie. He gave her a withering glare, but knew that there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Aomine was a little annoyed to discover that they _weren't_ late. Apparently Kise had given certain people an earlier time in order to get certain _others_ there _on time_.

And apparently seating had been arranged ahead of time…and _definitely_ without him being consulted.

Everyone at the table really tried very hard not to stare at the absolutely ridiculous combination of people settled in the middle of the table.

"…Uhh…Momoi-san…did we go too far?" Riko whispered hoarsely, cringing back a little bit at the annoyance that was radiating from a few seats down. Momoi just smiled brightly.

"Not at all…" she replied sweetly, "Ki-chan insisted and Aomine-kun has been acting like an idiot these past two weeks…"

"Not to mention they're driving everyone mental…" Hyuga remarked dryly from across from Riko. Izuki, who was to one side of him, nodded in agreement, but then cringed.

"Even so…" he admitted quietly, "…I don't know if _anyone_ deserves _that_…"

_That_ referred to the certain arrangement of six seats that was currently attracting sympathetic looks, cringes, and many a prayer for popcorn.

Aomine and Kagami were sitting across from each other; rather tense. Himuro and Kuroko sat either side of Kagami, with Takao and Kise barring Aomine's escape on the other side of the table. Takao and Kise were looking highly amused, whereas Kuroko and Himuro managed to keep relatively even poker faces.

"…Hi…" Kagami remarked flatly, deciding to try and at least be civil, despite how annoyed (and a little disappointed) he'd been these past two weeks. He was secretly glad that Aomine had turned up. Life hadn't been quite so interesting without someone to bounce pointless arguments off...and his apartment was feeling a little empty without having someone completely taking claim of it. Aomine made a dismissive grunt of acknowledgement, but didn't look across the table. The redhead's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he agitatedly picked up his menu and began scanning it. He ignored Takao's sniggering and snuck a look up at the other ace.

His mouth ran a little dry.

Leaning back in his seat, tie slightly askew and a tanned hand running back through still-damp hair, Aomine was practically oozing sex appeal. Kagami was both stunned and unsurprised to have suddenly become aware of that. He blinked several times; trying to clear the rose-tint from his eyes, and swallowed hard. God…he really was hot, wasn't he?

Highly embarrassed of such thoughts, and terrified that they were showing on his face, he buried his nose into the menu and tried to rid such foolish thoughts from his head. Thinking Aomine was hot was one thing, but labelling him with 'sex appeal' was entirely another! Sure…he kinda…_really_ liked how his body felt -especially when it was up against his…but sex…with _Aomine_?

He resisted the urge to face-plant onto the table in mortification. This was _not_ the time to be thinking about _anything_ like that!

"Uhh…" he tried again as he reminded himself that above all else, he was pissed off at him. He'd been blowing him off for two weeks now –and even now he was ignoring him. What was his fucking problem? Sure, he'd gotten angry at him about that whole business with the dinner…but they'd kinda sorted that shit out, right? And there was that whole thing about that make-out session at the game a few days later…

God, the memory of that was just the worst, and also the best. Sometimes, he could still feel the grip of Aomine's hands firmly gripping his ass, and he had managed to admit to himself that he'd liked it. It had been embarrassing to be so publically groped like that, but he was getting a little _too_ used to the public displays of affection. Not to mention that maybe he was a bit of a pervert to like it when he was manhandled a little...

It annoyed him how somehow, Aomine could always get his body to react –and when his body reacted, his mind tended to haze over.

"Did you want something?" Aomine droned dismissively, glancing up from his menu and immediately irritating Kagami with his bored expression.

"I just…wanted to say…you uhh…look…" Kagami mumbled, having decided that tonight, since it was Kise's birthday dinner, he was going to be civil. He searched the bluenette for a compliment that wouldn't let on that he was perhaps having less-than-platonic thoughts about him in the back of his mind. "…Clean?"

Takao and Kise both snorted loudly, but Takao managed to cover it up before Midorima elbowed him. Kise was not quite so lucky, and wound up being bopped on the head by Kasamatsu.

"…Senpai, so mean…it's my birthday!" Kise pouted melodramatically.

"That doesn't mean you can act like an idiot," Kasamatsu sniffed, not falling for the act that his ace was currently trying to put on, "Behave yourself." That was what he said, of course, but no one at the table was under any illusion that just because it was his birthday, Kise was going to be behaving himself. Actually…it was likely quite the opposite.

"…Tch…" Aomine scoffed, resisting the urge to laugh at Kagami's lame attempt at a compliment. He could already feel his mood lifting from the redhead's mere presence, so out of reflex, he tried to squash that back down immediately.

"…You could at least be polite…" Kagami muttered mutinously, "Since you've been ignoring me and shit…not that it bothered me."

"Hah? Ignoring you? I hadn't noticed," Aomine retorted stiffly, and Takao was suddenly taking a long scull of water to try and stop himself from laughing again. The pair of them were being utterly proud and ridiculous. Either something had happened between the two of them, that no one knew about…or nothing had happened, and that was the problem.

Takao was almost _certain_ that their little interference in the baths on vacation had sparked something. He wasn't sure how to go about it, but he just _knew_ that they needed just a little bit of fuel on the fire. That was what Himuro, Kise and Kuroko were there for. They too, were acting as simple observers in Kagami and Aomine's interactions…so that they could develop a strategy for tackling this and maybe mending things. Or escalating. So far, it could go either way.

"Ahh, Kagami…your tie's done really badly…" Takao remarked casually, sipping on his drink and looking pointedly at Himuro. Midorima caught the look and frowned disapprovingly at his mischievous boyfriend. Takao decided to ignore the look as Himuro caught on.

"He's right, Taiga," he chuckled, looking at the red tie on the black shirt that Kagami was currently wearing, "…Let me fix that for you…" With Kise chewing on his finger to stop himself from giggling, Kagami obediently turned to face his brother and Himuro began adjusting his tie delicately. Aomine, constantly watching the scene across the table, moodily took a deep sip of his water as Takao shuffled away from his mutinous aura.

"Shin-chan…I might die…" he whispered hoarsely as he brushed up against Midorima.

"And it would be entirely your own fault," he sniffed in response, pushing him back towards Aomine. "I am not saving you."

"Mourn me?" he pouted, but was unable to keep a straight face, "…And wait at least a year until you replace me?"

"…Tch…such nonsense. Like I would ever…" Midorima replied, before he knew what he was saying. Takao's eyes widened and he leaned up on his boyfriend's shoulder with a smug look on his face as the shooting guard promptly flushed and stared determinedly at his menu.

"Much better…" Himuro remarked, as he finished adjusting Kagami's tie, and with a deliberate look across the table at Aomine, brushed a speck of imaginary dust off his little brother's shoulder. Kagami didn't notice the gesture, but was well aware of Aomine's radiated annoyance.

The waiters came and took their orders, and the small talk grew. Even if no one wanted to know what Kise had gotten for his birthday, he spoke loud enough for practically the entire restaurant to hear. Apparently, he'd been begging to go to an amusement park for a while, and Kasamatsu had finally gotten sick of his nagging and had taken him to one for the day. He was overjoyed at being able to retell how exciting it had been.

"Actual babysitter…" Hyuga and Imayoshi agreed flatly.

" –Behave yourselves, you two," Riko scolded under her breath, and they just averted their eyes sheepishly at having been told off. Just like how it had been on vacation, there was a nice vibe, and something fun about having the gang all there.

Well, except for the fact that Aomine and Kagami were glaring at each other. Their conversation was a little forced as they waited for their food to come out, and no one really understood why; probably not even the two of them. It had been so obvious these past two weeks that they disliked not being around each other; and now that they were, they were acting like children.

"So why are you two fighting?" Himuro inquired curiously.

"We're not fighting," they both replied immediately, before glaring at each other and looking away. Takao and Kuroko exchanged looks and they both nodded. It was the only way.

The looks that Kuroko saw on the faces of his lights made him sad. He truly believed that they weren't fighting –which was entirely the problem. He'd never really seen them happier than when they were fighting; except when they were playing basketball –which was just a different kind of fight for them.

And stranger still was how Aomine was still making no attempt at getting Kagami's attention. Usually, in situations like this, he would practically have "look at me, Kagami" stamped across his face for the world (minus Kagami) to see. But right now, he was doing relatively well at ignoring him; even with Himuro right there in front of him, making conversation.

The atmosphere was unusually tense. It wasn't quite the same without the pair of them complaining at each other. He could tell that they both hated the silence. They both craved competition, and the banter and the arguing that came with each other –that much was obvious. Kuroko had seen how disappointed Kagami had been these past weeks. Even if he wouldn't say it out loud, it was obvious that he liked hanging out with Aomine (why else would he let him be at his apartment so frequently), and the fact that the other ace had suddenly gone all 'silent treatment' on him without a reason had frustrated him to no end.

Aomine was definitely no better. Kuroko could only begin to hazard a guess at what was going on in his mind, but knew that whatever it was, it had led him to thinking that he had to stay away from Kagami. It was making the aces irritable, and he knew that they both wanted to get rid of the awkward atmosphere currently surrounding their relationship. Unfortunately, they weren't talking to each other.

Unfortunately for them, they were surrounded.

"…Kagamicchi?" Kise remarked curiously, folding his fingers together and leaning on them with a rather angelic expression. Kagami looked up with a raised eyebrow as he went to take a drink from his glass.

"Is it that Aominecchi isn't good in bed?"

Kagami immediately spat his mouthful of water across the table, and suddenly, Aomine was sporting a rather drenched face. Gaze narrowing angrily, he leaned across the table and grabbed Kagami's tie; giving it a yank so that they met in the middle of the table.

"…What's the big idea?" he growled crossly; water dripping down his face.

" –I was surprised, okay?" Kagami snapped, just as crossly; becoming very well aware that their faces were rather close now. It felt like he hadn't had Aomine in his personal space in a while... Knowing what usually happened in situations like this, his eyelids automatically fluttered to half-mast, and when he spoke, it was in a low tone. "…Sorry…"

Aomine saw Kagami's gaze hazing over, and found his tongue trailing across his own lips. Despite himself…he found himself thinking that he…really did look kind of good tonight…

Blue eyes flicked between meeting Kagami's red gaze, and peering down at his expectant, slightly-parted lips. He could see Kagami's tongue twitching behind his teeth; just waiting for him to close the gap, and found that his heart was beginning to race with anticipation. He found that he didn't even care that practically the entire restaurant was watching –he just wanted to kiss him.

And because he realised that, he pulled back and slumped back into his seat; wiping his face off with a napkin. Kagami swallowed and slowly slumped back, his face undeniably disappointed as he blinked away the desire from his eyes.

Takao, Kuroko, Himuro and Kise exchanged glances in understanding.

_Ahh, sexual tension._

"You didn't answer my question," Kise chuckled cheerfully.

"Kise, it might be your birthday, but I'll still punch you," Aomine threatened darkly.

"I support that," Kasamatsu assured him, but Kise's expression didn't waver, despite the dead-end he'd apparently seemed to hit. But he waited a moment, having heard the tiny sound of Aomine's ego taking a hit.

"…And not that it's any of your business, but I'm fucking great in the sack," Aomine added arrogantly. Kise's wicked eyes glinted triumphantly and he glanced over at Himuro to add to the fire.

"Taiga…care to comment?" Himuro inquired lightly, in a thoroughly interested tone. Kagami was about to blush about fifty shades of red and vehemently deny anything remotely related to sex and Aomine…but then he remembered that his brother was still one of the believers in their relationship.

And Aomine had been a jackass recently, and deserved to be taken down a notch. He was feeling strangely _disappointed_ that he hadn't kissed him, and he was still pissed that he'd been avoiding him for two weeks. He hated the way Aomine went hot and cold like this –and he missed getting to play basketball with him. He had this coming.

He refused to acknowledge that he was purposely starting an argument for argument's sake.

"…He likes to talk himself up," he replied with exaggerated casualness; even throwing in a shrug for good measure. Takao practically cackled in amusement as those around them glanced over to see how Aomine was taking this _definite_ slight to his pride.

The bluenette's face was _thoroughly_ unimpressed, but Kagami suddenly understood the look in his eyes and realised that he had perhaps made a very big mistake.

_Two can play at this game._

But, perhaps because he recognised the fire rising in Aomine's eyes and knew that a rather exciting storm was coming, he didn't take it back.

"…You never seem to have any complaints," Touou's ace drawled back.

"Well, you have a bit of a fragile ego…" Kagami retorted nonchalantly, a triumphant glint in his eyes. "…Have to pump it a bit."

"My ego's not all you're always _pumping_," Aomine shot back and was satisfied to see a blush start to stain Kagami's cheeks.

"_Always_?" Kise spluttered, trying to conceal a laugh.

"He can't keep his hands off me," the bluenette informed him smugly, before Kagami could think of anything to defend himself with. "…Or his mouth…" He licked his lips for emphasis and the redhead glowered at him. He didn't even care what the topic was; he was just excited that they were talking again –arguing again. So Aomine was scoring more points against him –it didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that sense of excitement and competition he got whenever they clashed…but that wasn't all...there was some kind of strange…_intensity_ in the air. He didn't know if it was because they were recovering from an awkward silent treatment…or if it was because of the topic at hand.

"…So I guess we can safely assume that Aomine tops?" Takao commented as he jumped on that bandwagon. A confused look from Kagami confirmed that the entire conversation was just the pair of them talking out their asses, and that one of them at least, wasn't up with the lingo.

"…Like how Midorima-kun 'tops' Takao-kun," Kuroko explained to Kagami.

" –Don't bring me into this, Kuroko…" Midorima remarked coldly, as they spied their food beginning to be brought over.

"Ahh, nothing to be ashamed of, Shin-chan," his boyfriend commented smugly as Kagami understood the implication and raced to deny.

" –That's right," Aomine confirmed in an infuriatingly obnoxious voice as Kagami gripped the tablecloth perhaps a little too tightly. "…His ass is mine. You like it rough…don't you, Kagami?" There was something in the other ace's low tone that sent a shudder down Kagami's spine. "…You like it when I slam you against –" There was a resounding clatter as the waiter currently delivering food overheard what he was saying, and in embarrassment, nearly dropped the plates.

Takao absolutely lost his shit.

The entire table burst out laughing; Kagami included. His cheeks were flushed with mortification at his and Aomine's ridiculous argument, but he couldn't help but laugh out loud. And then he glanced across the table and grinned helplessly at his sort-of-boyfriend; the content of the argument having completely slipped his mind. Aomine looked stunned at the expression on Kagami's face, and his face reluctantly broke into a sheepish smile.

There was that elusive smile that made Kagami's mood soar. Tenseness leaving the air, he chuckled as he watched a tanned hand snake across the table to steal a piece of meat from his plate.

"Oi, bastard, hands to yourself!" he snapped crossly, though his face was laughing and his voice sounded playful. Aomine just popped the piece of food in his mouth with a smug look; a smile dancing in his eyes. He couldn't fucking help it. He just couldn't help himself. Like how he sometimes couldn't help kissing Kagami, he just couldn't keep his distance.

"…Speak for yourself," he remarked mockingly, and Kagami had to backtrack through their conversation to figure out what he was talking about.

"Hey! Shut up! Don't say such crap!" he snapped hotly, blushing again at the very thought of _him_ not being able to keep his hands of Aomine. If anyone was getting handsy, it was _that_ bastard! ...Not that he ever really protested...

Aomine just quirked an eyebrow, leaning on one hand as his other hand reached out to steal another piece of food.

Aomine didn't know what had possessed him. He'd been so good. He'd kept away; tried to keep away those stupid feelings, and tried to rid himself out that guilty feeling he got whenever he heard Kagami sounding morose over the phone or via text. He'd been set on ignoring the guy all dinner –just getting through this situation without having to deal with a thudding heart or being taken over by symptoms of some medical condition…but Kise…

_Of course it was Kise_…

And damn his pride. And damn Kagami for starting an argument…

Because damn, he couldn't help but smile now. That had to have been the most ridiculous argument they'd ever had –and he had enjoyed every fucking word. Who was he kidding? He couldn't deal with ignoring Kagami. He'd grown used to his presence, and the lack of it bothered him. It was too much fun making fun of him…and to his fury, that warm grin of Kagami's just had a way of melting away the wall of ice he tried so hard to build up. Almost experimentally, he picked up another piece of Kagami's food with his fingers (to the other ace's protest), and held it up. Kagami just stared at it warily for a moment and then quirked an eyebrow at Aomine.

Kuroko and Kise exchanged glances and then just _stared_ as Aomine held out the piece of food on the tip on one finger expectantly. Kagami cautiously leaned forwards and gently pried it from Aomine's finger with his teeth; lips brushing up against his skin for perhaps a fraction too long. Kise clamped his hands over his eyes so that he wouldn't let out a loud squeal as Kagami immediately turned scarlet and Aomine smirked.

"They're flirting, they're flirting…is this the end of the world, or what?" Hyuga deadpanned.

"That is not so much _flirting_ as it is foreplay…" Kasamatsu sighed as Kise exclaimed, "Senpai, can I feed you? Please can I feed you?" Kasamatsu glowered at the blonde, but he looked at him with such eager-to-please eyes that he just sighed, "…As long as it's not like Aomine and Kagami…"

Kuroko smiled softly to himself as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He had a text from Takao.

_You guys are way too good_.

He glanced up at the point guard, who was sniggering to himself as Kagami and Aomine's heated arguments started up again. He'd known that if they could just get an argument started, then the fire between them would ignite again, and both of them would be helpless to ignore it. Maybe sometime soon, Aomine would admit that Kagami made him happy. Kuroko hoped so. He'd been waiting what felt like such a long time to see his old light smile like that.

* * *

Dinner was much more pleasant after that. Well, it was louder, for one thing. Like usual, Hyuga thoroughly underestimated how much food Wakamatsu could fit in his mouth, and they'd all almost started a food fight because they'd all gotten rather caught up in seeing who could toss their food down the table and still get it in someone's mouth.

Not to mention, when Midorima and Kasamatsu had brought out Kise's cake, the pair of them had rather enjoyed slamming his face down into the frosting. Neither of them was very apologetic about it, and Midorima was rather smug, until Takao kindly informed Kise that his darling tsundere boyfriend had spent the afternoon baking the cake. Momoi and Riko had offered, but upon being reminded (by their terrified teams) that it wasn't often that Midorima decided to showcase friendship, they had withdrawn such an offer.

Kise had also decided that in a week or so, he was going to have a less formal birthday celebration (a joint birthday with Midorima). Midorima wasn't thrilled with the suggestion, but Takao accepted in his stead.

Aomine sighed heavily, leaning back in his seat and tugging on his tie to loosen it slightly. As he slouched, his legs brushed up against Kagami's under the table, but the redhead didn't brush away. He glanced up and found him watching him from the corner of his eyes, before looking away. Aomine knew that even though he wouldn't ask, he wanted to know why he'd been ignoring him. Not like he could ever say anything.

Not like he could admit that sometimes Kagami made him feel like grinning and blushing like a teenage girl in a high school chick flick. Could he ever admit that the guy made him feel all strange, and that arguing with him made him happy -which was the entire problem. Could he say that he tried to stay away because of the effect he had on him?

No, he couldn't admit that, because admitting that made it real; it made it true; it meant admitting that there was someone out there who had power over him.

And Aomine was too proud.

But as long as he denied it to himself...then that was fine.

Unfortunately for he and Kagami, their friends had seen the way the pair of them played eye tag over dinner, and the way their legs brushed up against each other's under the table...and the way their gazes lingers on lips and bared throats. They were fooling no one but themselves.

And more recently, not even doing that all that convincingly, it seemed.

* * *

**Ahh, a bit of a set-up chapter... I just thought that Aomine especially needed a bit of a moment to take a step back, reflect, and dive back into denial. He gets close, and then backs off...But, despite himself, he just gets drawn right back in. **

**And Kise's throwing a proper birthday celebration. That means alcohol. Which has historically, not gone down so well...  
A catalyst? Maybe it'll save them. Maybe it won't. **

**We'll see.**

I'll try have it up in the next few days. As always, thank you kindly for reading, m'dears.  
xx K


	17. Chapter 17

**_Finally_**** updating! Actually, I'm a little stunned that I've only been working on this for like a month... Uhh, so anyways, apologies as always for making you wait -I'm trying to sort things out and gather my thoughts. But, this chapter is a long one, so I hope that kinda makes up for it, maybe? I'll admit that we are likely in the last several chapters...but all stories must end somewhere, I suppose...**

Ahh, kept you waiting long enough; read on. Kise's party! Contains mild sexual content. 

* * *

Kise Ryouta's house was rather magnificent. It was huge, had a pool, and was the kind of place with chandeliers and beautiful hallways and banisters and white, tiled floors.

Unfortunately, it had currently lost a great deal of its grandeur.

Kuroko sleepily wandered down towards the kitchen, manoeuvring through the dozy hallways as best he could. This quiet was a far cry from the chaos and noise that the house had been filled with the night before, but from the mess, it was definitely easy to see what kind of ruckus they'd all caused.

Not everyone had managed to make it to one of the various guest rooms to sleep (or pass out). Kuroko had opened the door of his room to discover an unfamiliar face toppling inwards; having fallen asleep against the door. Now, as he made his way through the house, he tried his best not to stand on rubbish and people.

After what felt like a ridiculous amount of time to make it downstairs, he finally reached the kitchen, only to discover that there was already someone there, clad in only a long, grey dress shirt and a pair of socks.

"Takao-kun?" Kuroko remarked curiously, and the point guard sheepishly looked over his shoulder, sculling his glass of water hungrily. "…You look awful."

"Don't I know it?" Takao chuckled, wiping the water from his chin and filling up another glass. He looked pale, with dark bags under his eyes…and probably the most hung over that Kuroko had ever seen someone. There were dark hickeys on his neck, and his knees were shaking slightly –obviously the trip downstairs having been a bit of a trial.

"How is Midorima-kun?" Kuroko inquired politely, as he fetched a glass. Takao chuckled to himself and reached up to touch his neck.

"Uhh…after last night? Very, very hung over," he admitted with a touch of smugness, "He looks worse than me, _trust me_. Shin-chan kinda lets loose with alcohol... But…" He shrugged with a cheeky expression, "…I don't complain…" Trying to take a step, he winced a little and his hand clutched at his lower back for a moment. "…Well…not at the time…" Kuroko just chuckled along with him for a moment as they sipped at their water in companionable silence.

"Was your night good?" Kuroko asked, "…Aside from the obvious…" Takao let out a bark of laughter and grinned.

"Awesome," he replied brightly, "…Although I _vaguely_ remember dancing on a table…"

" –And did a backflip," Kuroko added, "…I think I saw Murasakibara asleep on that table, actually."

"_On_ it?" Takao queried with a raised eyebrow.

"There was a lot of cake on it." The point guard made a noise of understanding and shrugged again.

"What about you? Had a good night? How are you _not_ hung over?" he inquired flatly –voice tinted with a hint of envy. Kuroko just smiled to himself mysteriously, and didn't answer. Takao was thoroughly annoyed that he could have such bright eyes after such a heavy night of drinking. His bed hair was atrocious, but then again, Takao's sex-hair was worse, and he might've given anything to not feel as much like throwing up as he currently did.

There was suddenly a curse from the direction of the stairs, and the pair of them peered out through the kitchen door to see a shirtless Wakamatsu trip on the last stair and promptly fall to the ground with a crash that shook the room. There was a chorus of displeased grunts as he swore again and tried to stagger to his feet again. Sakurai was trailing a few stairs behind him, wearing only a long shirt that presumably belonged to his teammate, and tugging on it so that it covered him a little better.

"Ugh…" Wakamatsu grumbled, blearily holding his head as he dragged himself over towards the kitchen. "…Morning…"

"Morning," Kuroko and Takao chirped brightly, and he visibly cringed at the cheerful tone of their voices. "You look like you had a good night."

"I wish…" he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the rather embarrassed Sakurai. Takao chuckled wickedly and lounged casually on the counter.

"So…you two, too, huh?" he commented impishly, and Kuroko chuckled into his drink as Sakurai and Wakamatsu stared at them and then back at each other. Sakurai suddenly seemed to realise that he was dressed in an almost identical manner to Takao, who had rather obviously been getting up to mischief during the night.

"NO! No, no! It's not like…we didn't…No, nothing like…" Wakamatsu hurriedly squawked, his ears burning red as Sakurai started stammering out nonsense. Takao just chuckled teasingly and waved away their denials to show he didn't mean any harm.

"I'm just playing," he grinned, "…Sakurai –did you get anywhere with the redhead last night? You guys were having a bit of fun out by the pool…" Sakurai mumbled something and suddenly looked very guilty as Wakamatsu stared at him suspiciously.

"Redhead?" he queried, "…That chick leaving your room was blonde –"

"…I uhh…sorry, I um…I didn't mean to…I didn't mean…we…it was…_well_…" Sakurai stammered hurriedly and Takao cracked a grin at him with a cheeky wink that made his blush deepen.

"…For real? _This guy_ got more action than me last night?" Wakamatsu complained loudly. "I just got fucking slapped by the chick he banged…"

"_Banged_ is such a harsh word…" Sakurai commented with a small frown.

"Well, you did hit on like, everyone," Takao reminded Wakamatsu with a shrug and resisted the urge to tug on Sakurai's cheek, "Besides, girls love the cuties. Shin-chan was fighting them off last night." He chuckled again and Wakamatsu burst out laughing at the mental image of Midorima having to deal with drunken girls fawning over him and calling him cute.

"Anyway," he yawned, "…I need some fresh air. It smells like booze in here."

"…And you smell like sex," Wakamatsu added, with a touch of jealousy as he rolled his eyes back to Sakurai.

" –I'll come with you," Kuroko remarked, "I'd like to see where Imayoshi and Hyuga wound up…" Takao squinted up at the ceiling as though trying to remember how those two names were relevant to the amusement in his voice.

"Oh, didn't Riko and Kiyoshi make –"

"Yes."

Without further delay, Kuroko and Takao left the kitchen with refilled glasses of water and headed on through to the lounge. There were people, clothes, cups and all manner of _things_ scattered everywhere. Otsubo was passed out in the corner and had a hilarious amount of household objects stacked on him, and there was a familiar pair of faces over on the couch.

"…You know, sometimes I guess it's best to not ask questions," Takao commented conversationally, not at all self-conscious that he was still not wearing pants -though thankfully he'd deigned to don underwear. He nodded over at the couch and Kuroko raised an eyebrow when he saw Kise and Kasamatsu passed out on the furniture, Kise sitting with his head lolling; black eye on full display. Kasamatsu was completely naked, aside from the pillow balanced precariously against his hips to provide an ounce of modesty, and his head was rested comfortably in Kise's lap.

"…Although, I wonder who punched him," he mused curiously, "Maybe it was Aomine."

"Bet you twenty bucks it was Kasamatsu," Kuroko retorted with a small smile.

"…Who are you, Imayoshi?" Takao chuckled, "You've got yourself a deal. Kise's fangirls were all over Kagami last night, and fuck was Aomine pissed."

"Pissed _drunk_, or pissed _off_?" Kuroko inquired.

"Hmm…I think they kinda fuelled each other."

The pair of them wandered out to the backyard, where the pool area was faring no better than the rest of the house. Takao kicked at a can with a chuckle and eyed the beer pong table where many a fight had started the night before. Who had gotten thrown in the pool, again? Probably more than one person…

"They aren't here…" Kuroko sighed, almost in disappointment, "This was the last place I saw them –oh…" He suddenly noticed that there was a large, inflatable chair still floating around in the middle of the pool, and Kiyoshi was lounging on it, wearing an absurdly oversized pair of sunglasses. He seemed quite the picture of content.

"Ahh, no matter," Takao shrugged, "They'll all be waking up soon anyway. Where's Momoi, but the way? I heard her going around door-knocking earlier?" Kuroko shrugged, but pulled out his phone, much to Takao's astonishment. "…How do you still have your phone? I lost mine like an hour in?"

Without answering, Kuroko quickly called up Momoi, who answered with less than her usual cheer.

"Momoi-san, is there something wrong?" he inquired in a slightly worried tone.

"I can't find him, Tetsu-kun; where is he?" she exclaimed dramatically, "I thought he went to bed last night, but he's not in his room, and I can't –"

"Take a deep breath," he advised, and she did just that, "Have you called him?"

"A bunch of times. He's not picking up."

"He might just be asleep or passed out," Kuroko informed her, "I'll help you look. Just keep calling him. I'm sure you'll find him. Try Imayoshi-san?" There was a pause.

"Tetsu-kun, you always know what to do!"

A few minutes later, there was the sound of a phone ringing somewhere upstairs.

In the living room, Otsubo rolled over in his near-unconsciousness, and the tower of crap stacked on him suddenly toppled to the ground with an almighty clatter. He groaned and clamped his hands over his ears, clenching his eyes shut tightly before collapsing back to sleep.

Kasamatsu's eyes flickered open at the unearthly din, and then dipped shut again. And then suddenly, as his brain registered that there was a denim-covered _crotch_ in his direct line of vision. He woke with a start, jerking backwards and toppling off the couch with a thud. It took only a few seconds for him to realise that he was completely naked. With an embarrassed yell, he grabbed the cushion that had been all that shielded him from the world and jammed it back against his crotch as Kise stretched languidly.

"Ow!" Kise exclaimed in pain as he suddenly saw stars; something crashing down on his head. He winced and looked up through a slightly watering eye to see Kasamatsu standing there with a pillow clutched to his groin and a look of fury plastered across his face. "Senpai?"

"What the hell, Kise?" he exploded, looking like he had half a mind to kick his ace, but thinking better of it, considering his undress. "What the fuck is going on? Where did you put my clothes?"

"I didn't touch them, I swear!" Kise squealed, recoiling back against the couch, "You wouldn't put them back on!"

"Is that a joke?" Kasamatsu snapped, swaying slightly and looking a little green –though it was impossible to say whether it was from the situation or the copious amount of alcohol he had had the previous night.

"Uh, no, no!" Kise assured him quickly, "I tried to get you to put your clothes back on, but you punched me in the face!" Kasamatsu paused for a moment, looking at the black eye that Kise was sporting, and immediately feeling guilty. It looked sore. But Kise didn't seem to be bothered by it. Instead, he just grinned back and spied a pair of stray pants lying nearby. He passed them to his captain and looked away innocently as Kasamatsu hurriedly dragged them on before anyone else woke up.

"Oh fuck…I'm going to be sick…" Kasamatsu groaned, suddenly making a mad dash for the bathroom. Kise found him there a few minutes later, chucking his guts up and sounding rather sorry for himself. Ever smiling, he sat down beside him as his captain hugged the toilet bowl, and offered him a glass of water.

"…Ugh…" Kasamatsu muttered, voice echoing in the toilet, "…What are you doing? Didn't I punch you…"

"You always punch me," Kise chuckled, patting him on the back comfortingly as he gratefully took the water from him. "And besides, senpai…you always take care of me! This time I got to take care of you!" Usually, Kasamatsu would've probably hit him, but fortunately for Kise, his captain was feeling far too sick to do anything except hurl into the toilet bowl and let his ace rub his back soothingly.

Nearby, roused by the sound of Kasamatsu throwing up, Hyuga let out a pained groan. The world felt like it was spinning, and even when his eyes flickered open, he was disorientated and queasy and he had to try and grip the ground to make sure he wasn't falling.

Only, when he did so, his hand did not grip carpet, but rather, human flesh.

Startled, Hyuga rolled his head to see who or what was lying next to him and was horrified to discover that it was Imayoshi, slowly waking from unconsciousness. The pair of them just stared at each other for a long moment, and then down at their hands. Not only had Hyuga accidentally clasped Imayoshi's hand, but they were linked together with what appeared to be a far-too sturdy pair of handcuffs.

"Fuck!" Hyuga swore as they both wrenched upwards and away from each other.

There was a resounding, strangely musical clamour as they bolted up and crashed into the underside of the piano that they had for some reason been asleep under. The piano let out an ungodly mash of notes and the pair of captains toppled to the ground dejectedly with spinning heads and their wrists still linked.

"_KIYOSHI!_" Hyuga shouted aggressively, causing Imayoshi to cringe and clamp his free hand over one ear.

Out in the pool, relaxing on his inflatable chair, Kiyoshi chuckled to himself as he heard Hyuga's shout mingled in with a startled cry or two from somewhere upstairs.

One hell of a night….

* * *

**Last night…**

* * *

"Beer pong. Now."

"Are we making things a little interesting?"

"You fucking know it."

" –Hyuga that's a very…bad…idea…" Kiyoshi trailed off, holding out a hand to stop his friend from doing something particularly stupid, but realising that he was going to do it anyway. He chuckled and shrugged helplessly at Riko, who facepalmed in exasperation as Hyuga and Imayoshi headed over to get the first round of beer pong started.

Kise's house was huge, and the party just as much so. There were dozens of people the basketballers had never seen there –probably because Kise was a model and according to his teammates, was very popular at school. It didn't matter that they didn't know everyone there –after a few drinks everyone was acting like they'd known each other for years.

Kagami and a group of their friends were clustered around one of the tables; a large bowl resting on what appeared to be a kind of nest of face down playing cards. Takao rubbed his chin mischievously, before slyly picking up one –being careful not to break the circle of cards. With a swift movement, he slammed it face-up on the table, and there was a moment of hesitation as everyone present tried to remember what action it commanded.

"GECKO!" Takao yelled out as a prompt. Everyone at the table ditched their drinks and scattered as fast as they could, sprinting for the nearest wall and practically throwing themselves against it. Izuki took a flying leap over the couch and practically body-slammed the wall in his urgency.

"Cheat!" Kagami exclaimed hotly, since he was the last to the walls –Himuro having successfully blocked his path. His brother just chuckled cheerfully and patted him on the shoulder as the group all laughed at Kagami and trooped back to the table. Once back there, he grudgingly finished off his drink and started a new one.

"I'm pretty sure Takao's cheating," he grumbled crossly.

"My hawk eye doesn't work like that," Takao chuckled lightly.

"…Yeah, just like how it doesn't work like that in poker…" Otsubo scoffed, pulling a card and slamming it down. Everyone groaned and raised their drinks to their lips, "_Waterfall_." All the guys at the table immediately started sculling –not allowed to stop until the person before them in the circle stopped. And Otsubo was harsh.

Himuro was the first person to gag on his drink and had to quit; having to scoop out a cupful of the vile concoction in the central bowl as punishment. It was a mix of everything that everyone was drinking, and tasted absolutely _foul_, but Himuro managed to keep his face impassive as he slowly watched everyone being out-sculled by Otsubo.

Finally, when Shutoku's captain had finished his drink, he slammed the empty vessel down on the table and Wakamatsu, to his left, gratefully stopped, followed by Izuki, and so on. Takao stubbornly remained drinking, since Kagami was beside him, and the redhead was forced to give up when he gagged and had to stop lest he throw everything back up.

"…Bastard…" Kagami groaned, receiving a cup of the potion from the bowl and sniffing it distastefully. It smelled strong, and thoroughly undesirable. He took a sip and cringed. "Tatsuya, what the fuck, how did you drink this shit?" It tasted worse than it smelled, but he had to choke it down. Already he was feeling a pleasant buzz from the alcohol.

"What _I'd_ like to know, is how this little shrimp manages to drink like that," Wakamatsu snorted, staggering against the table slightly and nodding over at Takao.

"Weeeell…" the point guard remarked slyly, leaning on the table for support –demonstrating that he was maybe more affected by the alcohol than he wanted everyone to think, "You see, if you can learn to just open up your –"

"If this has _anything_ to do with Midorima, I don't want to hear it," Otsubo informed him flatly.

"F…Fair enough," Takao shrugged with a flamboyant wave and a sneaky grin as Wakamatsu managed to gather what he had been about to say anyways.

"Speaking of Midorima…" Izuki remarked with a small laugh, pointing over towards the couches, where Kise was surrounded by adoring fangirls and being showered with gifts. There, sitting moodily on the edge of the couch and glaring at Takao with a thoroughly unimpressed expression, was Midorima, looking as though he thoroughly regretted letting his boyfriend talk him into having a shared birthday with Kise. Takao sniggered to himself.

"Okay, one sec, Shin-chan's gonna play too," he smirked.

"Bet you a cup of that crap there that he won't," Wakamatsu bet Otsubo.

"Tch, bet all you like –but these days, I don't think there's anything Takao couldn't talk Midorima into…"

"Heya, Shin-chan!" Takao greeted cheerfully as he sauntered over to the couch, where there were pretty, slightly tipsy girls surrounding him. There was one seated to either side of him, and he looked thoroughly displeased with the situation.

"Please desist," he remarked flatly, his usual solemnness still in play as he smoothly sidled away from one of the girls leaning in towards him.

"Cute, isn't he?" Takao remarked cheerfully to one of the girls, and they all nodded in agreement. Midorima's expression darkened and he folded his arms.

"Go away."

"Oh, but Shin-chan, I haven't given you a birthday present yet…" he commented lightly, and the girls all immediately squealed at the nickname as they immediately decided to adopt it.

" –Don't…" Midorima grumbled crossly, "Only Takao can call –" Realising what he'd been about to say, he clamped his mouth shut again and looked away as his boyfriend took pity on him, and with a wicked chuckle, tossed himself into the shooting guard's lap, pressing a kiss up against his lips. Disregarding the females, he took his blushing, embarrassed boyfriend's hand and dragged him up from the couch; over towards the table.

"What…why –" Midorima began to protest.

"You're playing Circle of Death with us," Takao explained, pouring him a drink and thrusting it into his hand.

"I'm not."

Wakamatsu tugged out a card from the pile, making sure not to break the circle, and slammed it down on the table.

"Rule!" he exclaimed triumphantly, "Any time Midorima acts like a party pooper, everyone has to drink." The entire table groaned, because they just _knew_ where this was headed.

"I'm not letting you drag me into this foolish game," Midorima sniffed, right on cue, and watched as the ring of people standing around the table took a large gulp from their cups. He glowered at them and folded his arms.

"Does being tsundere count?" Takao inquired with a raised hand.

"…I'm not being tsundere, you're simply being childish," he scoffed.

" –Please no," the table begged Wakamatsu. "We won't last," Kagami reminded him weakly.

"You're all idiots. Takao, I am _not_ playing –" Everyone took another drink.

"Shin-chan, you've got to drink too…it's part of the game…"

"I'm not…" Midorima saw everyone poised with their cups still halfway to their mouths, and merely sighed in exasperation, reluctantly taking a swig.

* * *

"Kagamicchi!" Kise exclaimed in delight, practically toppling over the back of the couch and into Kasamatsu's lap. "Senpai!" Despite it being his own party, the blonde wound up on his ass on the floor.

"So mean!" he pouted, but immediately, his fangirls swarmed in to make sure his perfect face remained unmarred. Strangely enough, they weren't bothering by the fact that Kasamatsu had been the one to push off their beloved model –instead, they seemed to find his irritated expression rather cute. Kagami found himself shoved to one end of the couch, chuckling to himself as a girl promptly made herself comfortable beside Kasamatsu, and another perched cheerfully in his lap. He just sighed heavily and glared down at an oblivious Kise.

Momoi and Riko, giggling to each other nearby, couldn't help but laugh at the put out expression on Kasamatsu's face as he shifted awkwardly, not wanting to push the girl away for fear of being slapped as Wakamatsu already had been…_twice_. Moriyama, chatting amiably to a couple of girls, peered at his situation rather wistfully.

Momoi let out a little squeal of adorableness, and tugged on Riko's sleeve. The pair of them turned and looked over to the corner where _Sakurai_, of all people, had his hands shyly on a raven-haired girl's waist, sweetly kissing her, and her definitely seeming _very_ interested.

"Oh that is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life," Momoi exclaimed in delight with a soft 'aww' as Sakurai gently dipped his head and slipped his tongue into the girl's mouth. "Anyone you've got an eye on?" she giggled, nudging Riko teasingly. Seirin's coach tossed her head, her cheeks dusted slightly pink from drinking, but said nothing. Momoi pouted playfully, but then laughed again as she glanced across the room.

"…Well…_someone_ has his eye on someone…" she remarked lightly, nodding over to where Aomine was playing a game of beer pong against Wakamatsu and Himuro with Kuroko as his teammate. Somehow, Aomine and Kuroko were winning, despite the fact that Kuroko wasn't a particularly good shot, and his former light seemed…

_…Distracted_.

It wasn't difficult to follow Aomine's line of sight across the room to where Kagami was sitting on the couch in the company of females.

"…Aomine-kun…it's your turn," Kuroko remarked, tugging on Aomine's sleeve to remind him to take his shot. The bluenette was only partially listening, because there was a certain redhead across the room that had caught his eye –and not just because it was Kagami. There happened to be a rather attractive female sitting on the armrest beside him, with her eyes trained on the redhead with a great deal of interest. Kagami, oblivious moron that he was, obviously wasn't picking up on all the sly touches to his biceps and the way she was leaning in close. Barely glancing across the table, he tossed a ping pong ball and turned his back.

"…There's no need to get jealous," Kuroko assured him with a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes.

"Jealous? Who's jealous?" Aomine grunted flatly, though the defensiveness wasn't in the slightest bit convincing. He scoffed, undeniably _irritated_ and not liking it in the least, as he let his eyes rove across Kagami's figure. For just _some reason_ he looked good tonight. Maybe it was the slight flush and the soft haze in his eyes, or the low collared shirt that apparently Kuroko had advised him to wear…

Sensing an intense gaze on him, Kagami looked up, mid-way through a conversation with a nice girl, and locked eyes with Aomine.

Holy crap.

Whatever it was in those blue eyes of his was burning him and burning straight through him. Words fell from his lips and his breath caught in his throat as he watched Aomine languidly take a sip of his drink, then tug at the hem of his shirt, ever-so-slowly dragging it upwards to dab at his dripping lower lip. His toned, tanned abdomen tensed, muscles rippling as Aomine gifted the fixated redhead with a sultry smirk.

"…Is this some kind of barbaric mating display?" Riko whispered in awe, "…Because I am totally okay with it…"

" –What a _nice view_, Kagamicchi," Kise commented lightly, and Kagami suddenly found himself snapped back to reality and hurriedly attempting to blink away the lust that had risen to his eyes (and elsewhere) unbidden.

"I'll say…" the girl who Kagami had been conversing with suddenly commented slyly, and he looked at her in astonishment, "…You know…I wouldn't be opposed to…" She chuckled, as though almost abashed at having suggested such a thing. Kagami stared, and then, as she glanced over at Aomine, understood her meaning.

"He's not available," he remarked, a little icier than he had intended. She looked thoroughly taken aback by his tone, and shifted awkwardly. He swallowed and averted his eyes apologetically. He hadn't meant to sound like that. Hell, he hadn't meant to say that in the first place. Well, Aomine _wasn't technically_ available…but he hadn't had to sound quite so…

All guilt he'd felt at being rude ended pretty much as soon as he looked back over at Aomine. Alcohol may have been playing tricks on him, but he could've sworn that even the very air around the guy was sparking with _something_. He shifted uncomfortably and tugged on the collar of his shirt.

Was it suddenly really hot in here?

Aomine suddenly felt as though a large amount of his sex appeal vanished instantly as Kuroko jabbed him in the side to inform him that it was their turn again. He glared crossly at his former shadow.

"…You can stop preening now," Kuroko remarked flatly.

"I wasn't _preening_," he droned with a shrug, "And especially not for Kagami…"

"…When did I say anything about Kagami-kun?" he replied with a quirked eyebrow. Aomine glared at him darkly. He'd had too much to drink, and Kuroko was sly even whilst they rested at equal sobriety levels.

To be fair…everyone had had a lot to drink.

And, as the night wore on, there was even more of that. Hyuga and Imayoshi almost started a food fight until Kiyoshi settled things by betting that they couldn't last the night without begging to be set free. This of course, begged the question of 'freed from what'?

Apparently Kise had been gifted with a pair of handcuffs from one of his slightly crazier fangirls, and he was more than willing to lend them out in the attempt to get Hyuga and Imayoshi to get along for a change. So it was that the two captains were handcuffed together (instantly realising how much of a terrible idea it was). That didn't stop Imayoshi from making an innocent comment about how 'at least we know Kiyoshi isn't going to do anything stupid with the key, like swallow it'.

Drunk, and annoyed at how many games of beer pong he'd lost, Hyuga bet against him. And Kiyoshi, always eager to help Hyuga out with his bets…promptly swallowed the key on the spot. It was rather a good thing that neither of the two captains thought too much of this, because within the next hour, the pair of them were huddled over a toilet, bonding over how god awful they felt, and why they should never try and outdrink Susa and Otsubo. Hyuga felt his throat burning, and he was handcuffed to someone while Kiyoshi and Riko patted their backs comfortingly, but it was kind of worth it to know that sometimes even Imayoshi lost bets.

Kiyoshi's little comment, related to a bet, sparked a host of drink-or-dare challenges. Takao had been dared to sing…which turned out to be less of a dare and more of a show that thoroughly embarrassed Midorima –mostly because he made sure to dedicate his songs to his dear Shin-chan. Despite what the shooting guard said, it was a quite spectacular show, since Takao proved that he was actually quite the singer –even dragging up a thoroughly unwilling Kagami for a duet that resulted in the point guard doing a relatively coordinated backflip off the table he was dancing on.

Murasakibara had had to do a beer bong –which he had completed in incredible time and promptly toppled over onto poor Sakurai. Even Riko had been convinced to join the fun; being dared to do her first keg stand. Izuki had been thrown into the pool under Hyuga's command (prompted by one too many 'this party is _sick_' jokes about his current state.)

There was dancing, and singing, and a whole lot of stripping, for some reason. Takao and Kise, ringleaders as they so were, started a 'hotness contest' which pretty much consisted of them tearing their shirts off and asking anyone who would look, to compare them. And a lot of people decided to look, resulting in Kise getting himself kicked by Kasamatsu. Always up for a bit of a bonding experience, Himuro had joined in alongside several others from the teams, and Kise's fangirls had really had quite the treat.

Unfortunately for Kasamatsu, he'd had a bit too much to drink, so when he too joined in; tearing his shirt off on a poolside table, he didn't stop at his shirt. Thankfully, before he managed to get entirely naked, Kise tackled him into the pool. Drunk Kasamatsu managed to drag about three other people in before he got out….and when Kise took him to find dry clothes, straight up refused to put any on.

Poor Kise, just trying to help and trying to stop his senpai from running through the house naked, attempted to force a shirt onto him. This simply resulted in Kasamatsu getting annoyed with him and punching him in the face a little harder than intended. Instead of sulking, Kise just managed to catching his flailing senpai and calm him down –assuring him that he wouldn't try and put clothes on him again, and convincing him that a sheet in no way counted as clothing.

Kaijo had never been so relieved to see their captain in a toga.

* * *

" –Kagami-kun, you have cake on your face."

A little dazed, Kagami sloppily wiped at his face and discovered that it came away covered in cream. With a chuckle, he stuck his finger in his mouth and promptly licked it clean.

"Tatsuya threw _so_ much at me…" the redhead informed him, swaying slightly. He was feeling rather lightheaded, and the ground wasn't always so stable –but he was having a good night. Murasakibara had started up an actual food fight in the living room, and practically no one had escaped unscathed.

Kise was probably going to have to change the pool water.

Kagami was thoroughly relieved that he had managed to escape being thrown in.

"H…How are you still standing?" Kagami complained, staring down at Kuroko, who was politely sipping on a beer but seemed rather unaffected by alcohol.

"…I like to keep my wits about me," Kuroko shrugged, and then frowned slightly, "…Should you really still be drinking….remember what happened _last_ time…" Kagami did remember. He remembered very well, and it was probably the reason he was kind of avoiding standing too close to Aomine tonight. Whenever the other ace would wander into the room, he made an excuse to be across the other side of it. The wicked looks he kept giving him were far too tempting, and he was finding himself far too attracted to him tonight. Whenever he would see the guy, he'd start feeling a little too warm…and his resolve to not get into any kind of public scene would crack.

"…Kagami…"

_Fuck_.

The redhead froze (as best he could) and turned at the sound of his name. While time had stood still in his mind as he mused, time outside his body had continued, and failed to warn him of Aomine's approach.

"Yo," he croaked out with a quirked eyebrow, leaning casually against the wall and hoping he wasn't looking too inviting.

Well, actually, he was hoping that he looked _thoroughly_ inviting, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"What've you been doing all night?" Aomine inquired in a bored tone.

"Destroyed Mitobe and Koganei at beer pong," he replied with a grin, trying not to stare. Oh god, Aomine was too close, and he could practically feel his lips on him again. His hazy mind was saying _just go for it. He's your boyfriend, after all_, but the slightly sober part of him was arguing _no he's not. NO HE'S NOT_.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) there was more alcohol in him than sense at the moment.

"Ahh, Kagami!" Takao exclaimed, having seen the possibility of an argument springing up between them. He bounded over, distracting the redhead for enough time to collect his thoughts. "You guys should sing! Sing!"

"No happening," Aomine rolled his eyes.

"But Kagami's good!" Takao chuckled, "I know exactly the song you guys should sing!" Kagami, who had been reluctant to sing at the start of the night, brightened at the suggestion –and not just because he was curious to see if Aomine could sing.

"Come on," he grinned, grabbing Aomine's hand excitedly.

"I don't sing." However, Aomine was actually considering it. It unsettled him how that fucking grin of Kagami's could actually have an effect on him like that. Despite his protests, Takao shoved one of the microphones into his hand as Kagami leapt up onto the table in a single bound and immediately hollered for Susa to chuck on '_Exciting Communication_'.

As the music started up, Kagami smirked over at Aomine, standing by the wall in annoyance.

"Come on, one song," Kagami hollered.

"In your dreams," Aomine grumbled as the redhead started singing. Aomine just watched with feigned disinterest as Kagami sang, the crowd around him singing along and cheering for him. Okay, so the moron wasn't a bad singer…and kept flicking looks over at him to join in. When Kagami gave him a '_please join in_' look, Aomine grudgingly sang along with the chorus…which caused the redhead to grin brighter and gesture for him to join him on the table. Reluctantly (but not as reluctantly as he would've liked), Aomine wandered over towards the 'stage', the crowd parting for him.

But as usual, Kagami's good mood was infectious, and Aomine grudgingly began to sing along. So it was, that when his part of the song –the rap –came up, he couldn't help himself. Breaking into a smirk, he leapt up beside Kagami onto the table, startling the redhead. The crowd cheered and Kagami roared in appreciation.

Momoi was delighted to see them up there together, since they had kind of passive-aggressively kept each other at arm's length all night –for good reason. While they sang up there, they were just like any other pair of drunk dudes, and it was lovely to see. Kagami had an arm slung around Aomine's shoulder, and was grinning happily. Really, the pair of them never looked as happy as when they were together. She could hardly believe that her Aomine was up on a table, singing in front of people, and actually looking like he was enjoying himself.

And so the night proceeded, with drinks, laughs, coma-ing and a bit of throwing-up bonding.

And by the time three am rolled around, the passing out really started to become prominent. Otsubo had fallen asleep in the living room and Izuki, Furihata and Koganei were mischievously stacking cups, shoes, pillows and anything they could find on top of his motionless form. Kasamatsu had very suddenly coma'd out on Kise's lap, and the floor was filled with people dropping into unconsciousness like flies.

"Ugh…carry me, Kagami…" Aomine complained as he staggered against the wall, trying to find something to hold onto as he tried to manoeuvre himself up the stairs.

"Carry yourself, bastard…" Kagami snorted back from a few stairs higher; practically on all fours and trying to figure out how to get to the top without rolling back down. "Hah…you're *hic* losing…"

"Am _not_," Aomine scoffed childishly, launching himself forwards and knocking Kagami to his knees, scrambling over him as he tried to gain the lead in what had become a race up the stairs. "Hah! Look how _slow_ you are!" Kagami made an annoyed noise, but the pair of them somehow managed to reach the top of the stairs.

"Ugh…why is the world…spinning?" Kagami complained, clutching at his head and using Aomine to help prop him up. Not that it did any good, since the two aces were swaying as badly as each other –much like everyone else staggering down the hallway trying to find a room. "Where's…my room…" Obligingly, Aomine opened the first door they came to, only to be met with a thoroughly good view of a pale back, apparently straddling something –apparently straddling and _riding_ something. Thankfully, there was a sheet that prevented them from receiving an eyeful of what exactly was going on.

" –Kinda busy!" Takao's voice remarked in a breathy but still conversational tone. He let out a low moan suddenly, and looked over his shoulder, almost laughing at the saucer-eyed, stunned expressions on Aomine and Kagami's faces. "Shut the door, guys!" He'd never seen them obey quite so fast.

"…Want me to lock it?" Takao inquired, though the end of his sentence came out rather strangled as Midorima thrust up into him particularly roughly. Panting as he rolled his hips down to draw his boyfriend deeper into him, he pressed his forehead to the pale chest beneath him, "…That's the third time that's…"

"…Do I look bothered?" Midorima whispered in a husky tone, fingers digging into the point guard's hips hard enough to bruise. Takao moaned appreciatively.

"Shin-chan…" he murmured, nipping at one of the shooting guard's nipples, "…You're a pervert."

"Stop talking, Takao."

"Make me," he responded challengingly, with a cheeky look in his eyes. Midorima almost_ smirked_ to himself, since he knew the best way to leave the annoying point guard breathless.

"…Well that was…" Kagami commented flatly, but Aomine just laughed, trying another door. This one had Wakamatsu passed out on the couch in the small suite-styled room, so they headed further down the hallway to find somewhere to crash.

* * *

**Present…**

* * *

Kagami let out a soft moan as Aomine's tongue seductively slicked into his mouth, a tanned arm wrapped around his body and tugging him close. His naked chest was pressed flush against Aomine's, their bare legs tangled together and their lips languidly meeting and parting teasingly as their tongues danced.

What a way to be woken up. Well, not that he was entirely awake. His mind was still drowsy and hadn't quite registered where he was, or what he was doing –other than that it was morning, he was in a bed, and making out with Aomine Daiki. To be perfectly honest, he didn't care about anything other than that.

Aomine let out a hot breath against his lips, hand trailing down his back to cup his ass. Kagami pressed his hips forwards automatically at the contact, and was a little surprised that it felt…different.

…And it apparently felt different because he was only in his underwear.

If he was about to express surprise or horror, his words were quickly swallowed up as his lips were claimed once more, the kiss deepened and their skin connecting. Kagami let out a soft hiss as Aomine's body brushed up against his aching nipples…which seemed a little more sensitive than usual…

"Mmm…" Kagami moaned as Aomine suckled possessively at his neck. "…What…what happened last night…" He felt a smug chuckle against his throat and two fingers teasingly brushed over his nipples, making him arch towards the other ace.

"…Do you need reminding…" Aomine murmured in a tone that send a shiver down the redhead's back, though he too seemed clouded with sleep, and not entirely aware of what he was doing. Hell, he sounded like he was still drunk. Kagami nipped at his lower lip playfully and ran a hand through his short hair; feeling a naked thigh press up between his legs.

At that contact, however, flesh separated by only the thin fabric of Kagami's briefs, Aomine paused, tongue lapping teasingly at the tip of Kagami's. He blinked, almost in astonishment as he suddenly seemed to realise what was happening. Kagami gulped loudly, his eyes widening. Neither of them said anything as the redhead suddenly peered down at his chest and paled when he realised that there was something caked to his skin. Something…

_Oh hell…._

Suddenly the door was flung open with a crash. Kagami let out a wild yell and recoiled away from Aomine automatically, clutching at the covers to shield his soiled chest. Aomine simply propped himself up on his elbows and looked towards the door in annoyance, hair ruffled and expression unimpressed.

Momoi was standing there with a look of relief plastered across her face –an expression mingled with anger and worry.

"Aomine-kun…" She breathed, "…Oh, I finally found you! Oh my goodness, I was so worried about you!"

"Hah?" Aomine quirked an eyebrow curiously as Kagami tried to look as invisible as possible.

"You just disappeared last night!" she exclaimed in a distressed tone, "I thought you'd run away, or gotten kidnapped or passed out somewhere and would never be found!"

"Tch…you worry too much," he muttered with a roll of his eyes as he sat up in bed; sheets pooling around his hips and revealing that he was only wearing his briefs.

"…I have a right to worry!" she sniffed, flushing a little in embarrassment at having caught him like that, "You always get yourself into trouble! I was worried that you might've gotten hypothermia…or gotten into a fight…or gone home with some random stranger –" Aomine coughed and scratched his neck awkwardly as she suddenly seemed to catch sight of Kagami sitting on the other side of the bed. He probably couldn't have looked guiltier if he tried. Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in astonishment.

She gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth, suddenly understanding why they had suddenly leapt apart when she barged in.

"No, no, no! We…no!" Kagami hurriedly assured her, following her mental process and desperately trying to rectify the situation, "I didn't sleep with him! Well, I _slept_ but not…"

"Go away, Satsuki…" Aomine advised flatly, and she very hurriedly obeyed. As soon as the door slammed shut again, the bluenette glared across at Kagami with a disbelieving look on his face.

"…What are you, a girl?" he remarked with a roll of his eyes, indicating how Kagami had the sheets pulled up over his chest. He just received a glare back from the redhead that was probably meant to mean '_there's cum on my chest, dickhead, shut the fuck up_'. Kagami groaned and lay back down, dragging the blankets up over his head in shame.

"What's your problem?" Aomine snorted with a yawn.

"…How can you even ask me that?" Kagami muttered in a very small voice, hearing Aomine shuffling along the bed. And then suddenly, the blanket was tugged back off his face, and he saw the other ace smugly smirking down on him.

"…You liked it…" he murmured quietly, pressing a sly kiss against his lips and Kagami distinctly felt a hand slink across underneath the covers and _cup_ him over his clothes.

_Holy shit, Aomine just grabbed his dick_.

He just lay there in shock, not knowing how to react, as Aomine ever so casually pulled back and dragged himself out of bed to start searching for his clothes. Red eyes just stared incredulously across the room at the tanned body before him as the bluenette bent down and dragged his pants back on –stumbling slightly. He cursed as he teetered violently, trying to buckle his belt up again.

"…Oh fuck…" Kagami murmured softly, leaning back into the pillows and wishing desperately that they might suffocate him. Memories from the night before were resurfacing…and Aomine was right.

_He _had_ enjoyed it._

* * *

Kagami should've remembered that there was something about Aomine that shattered his resolve. He should've remembered this, when he first felt lips against the back of his neck. He should've remembered, and should've pushed him away. He should've pushed him away and kicked him to the floor. Drunk Aomine probably would've coma'd there if he'd been shoved hard enough.

But even if he had remembered, maybe he wanted to forget. Maybe from the first touch, he was a goner.

Somehow, they'd wound up in the same bed.

Actually, there was no 'somehow' about it. It had taken a long time to find an empty room, and when they'd finally found one, neither had been willing to take the floor, or depart. A warning sign might have been Aomine stripping off his shirt, claiming, "It was too hot last time", but Kagami didn't hear it.

For a few minutes, under the blankets, it was fine. And then Aomine, under the influence of alcohol, with his judgment impeded and impulses in control, moved across the bed, and pressed his lips to the back of Kagami's neck.

"…What're you doing…" Kagami mumbled distantly, but at the slightest suck at his pulse, he was fully awake. His breath shook slightly as he fought over whether or not to resist. But when he felt a hand ghost across his abdomen, he couldn't help but urge on his touch. Filled with anticipation of the heat to come, Kagami glanced back over his shoulder and felt hot, alcohol-drenched lips claim his. He kissed back.

In moments, he had been pushed roughly to his back, Aomine hovering over him and kissing him hungrily; urgently. Like usual, their lips met with heat and force, but this time, in their drunken haze, their tongues clashed with lust. Aomine's lips summoned moans from deep in Kagami's throat, moans and little whimpers that he was almost ashamed of and which sent jolts of possessive arousal through the bluenette's system. In return, he let out low moans, the vibrations reverberating in Kagami's mouth. Over and over, their lips met in open-mouthed kisses; their aroused grunts and pants echoing in the empty room as their hands roved across each other's bodies.

One of Aomine's hands slyly slid up underneath the redhead's shirt and pinched at his nipples, tweaking them to hardness as Kagami arched up into his touch. Snickering smugly, the bluenette descended to his neck and suckled seductively at the soft skin, marking him over and over as Kagami tipped his neck back and allowed –_encouraged_ –him to.

Making out wasn't enough. He wanted more.

With drunken boldness, Kagami hurriedly grabbed the hem of his shirt and tore it off over his head. Aomine appeared surprised, but then, with a sly look in his eyes, suddenly moved from his neck and began pressing warm, damp kisses down the redhead's chest, eyeing him the whole time. He smirked as he saw red eyes glaze in appreciation.

"Mmm…" Kagami rumbled approvingly, fisting short blue hair as he felt a hot, damp tongue lick languidly at one of his nipples. His lidded eyes glanced down and saw blue eyes glinting up at him with something that he had seen before –something he had seen months ago underneath the mistletoe, and in a certain bath, not so long ago. That look sent a wave of arousal right to his groin. Chuckling wickedly, Aomine's tongue flicked out and the tip circled his hardened nipple teasingly. Frustrated at the feathering sensation, Kagami couldn't help but arch up a little further.

"…Needy…" Aomine muttered, but didn't sound displeased as he took the bud into his mouth and sucked hard; teeth nipping at it until it was aching and sensitive. Kagami didn't complain though, his heart racing and his breath hitching with each swipe of Aomine's tongue. Until Aomine had dared to touch him like that, he'd never realised he had such a weakness. That smug look on the bastard's face was infuriating, so he wrenched him up by his hair and mashed their lips together again in a messy mix of tongues.

"Nn…hah…" Kagami moaned; hands running down Aomine's back and tugging him close. Their skin pressed together, hips colliding at the same time. When the redhead let out an appreciative moan, Aomine repeated the action; a little harder.

"…You like that?" he murmured in a sultry tone, grinding his hips up against Kagami's. When he received no answer, he gripped his ass with both hands and roughly ground their crotches together, over and over, lewdly, and completely shamelessly dry humping him, with Kagami flushing and arching beneath him.

"…Ahh…fuck…yes…" Kagami found himself moaning, not surprised that he was getting hard. There was something in Aomine's eyes tonight; not to mention his ministrations on his chest, that was undeniably arousing. And the friction against his groin felt far too good to pull away from.

Aomine's hands planted almost violently into the mattress as he pressed his forehead against Kagami's, hips rolling down with need. There was lust in his eyes and desire in his gasping breaths. This wasn't like the soft grinding under some mistletoe. This was…neither of them could explain what it was. The alcohol had muted their inhibitions; freed the thinly veiled sexual tension that they had been trying to deny.

Kagami knew he liked Aomine's body. It now became abundantly clear just _how_ much he liked his body…and how much Aomine liked his…if what was grinding into his crotch was any indication.

Craving contact, and pants feeling a little too constricting, Aomine reached down and unbuckled his belt with one hand, kissing Kagami again and savouring the breathy way he panted into his mouth. In the dim lighting, he could see desire flaring up in those red eyes and a soft blush cross his cheeks. He looked undeniably sexy; especially with Aomine's marks bitten into his neck.

And right then, he didn't care that he was drunk; didn't care that he was in bed with, making out with and grinding against another guy. It didn't matter, because it was Kagami.

Breath shaking at what he was about to do, he kissed him harder as one of his hands slid down the redhead's heaving chest and slipped below the waistband of his pants, gripping hot flesh. Automatically, Kagami bucked his hips up with an aroused moan, nails raking down the other ace's tanned back. Eyes rolling back into his head, he barely had time to acknowledge that Aomine's hand was on his dick before the bluenette started stroking.

Finding the redhead's pants confining, Aomine used his free hand to tug Kagami's pants down his hips slightly. He buried his tongue down his throat, distracting himself from the fact that he was jerking off a guy and thoroughly unphased by it. It felt familiar and yet entirely foreign, and not as gross as he'd thought it would be. He could feel Kagami throbbing under his touch, hard for _him_, and fuck was that hot.

"…Mmm…Kagami…" he groaned in a tone thick with lust, tongue running against the side of the redhead's neck. As he touched him how he liked to touch himself, he added in a hoarse tone, "…Do me, too…"

He'd expected resistance. Hell, he'd expected to already be punched in the face. What he didn't expect, was Kagami to suddenly yank his pants down slightly and boldly obey. Aomine let out a throaty moan at the unfamiliar touch, thrusting shallowly into his hand to encourage him to not worry about being gentle.

Heat began to pool in Kagami's gut, fuelled by the hand around his arousal, and his own hand working at Aomine's. If he'd thought he got a rush from being touched by Aomine, touching him and hearing him pant and grunt with lust was even better. And it was almost as though stroking him was sending him spiralling towards his own orgasm, because for every touch, Aomine returned it in kind.

_What the hell. Was it some kind of competition? _

Of course it was.

* * *

Head swimming with memories of what had happened between them in the early hours of the morning, Kagami clamped his hands over his face, only to remember where exactly those hands had been. He let out a mortified groan and ran a hand down his chest, where the remnants of his and Aomine's nighttime activities had dried. God…he'd let Aomine…and _on his chest_…

He wanted to shudder. He wanted to regret it. He wanted so badly to wish that it had never happened. But he couldn't. It had felt _good_; so good. He'd never had an orgasm like that when he did it by himself.

How did things end up like this? Seriously? How did he let that happen? One minute they were making out…then suddenly they were grinding like animals, and then Aomine just goes right ahead and touches him like that…

_This was getting out of hand_.

Or _into_ hand, as it were.

He wished it hadn't been quite so dark. He wondered what Aomine looked like when he came.

And for having that thought, he wanted to punch himself. He was a fucking _idiot_! Getting drunk and making out with someone was one thing. Getting drunk and doing more…that was something else. Usually he made an effort to put up a fight against the bastard, but hearing those words, _'Do me, too' _said in that low, sultry tone of his...he'd felt compelled to obey. How the _fuck_ was Aomine just standing there so casually right now?

...Maybe he'd been bad at it? No...he'd _seemed _like he was enjoying it. And if he'd managed to get him to...

That wasn't the point! The point was that no matter how hot he found the guy, they shouldn't be _doing stuff_ together... Sure, he'd maybe had a couple of dreams about it... and reality had turned out to be a _whole_ lot better...

Ugh. This wasn't real. This wasn't real. He barely knew if he was referring to the current situation, or reminding himself of his so-called relationship with Aomine. In the end, he just lay there dejectedly, hoping that perhaps wallowing a little would help him figure things out. He'd regretted that whole fiasco under the mistletoe -and that had started this entire mess...but for some reason, he didn't regret _this_.

"Tch…stop thinking so hard," Aomine drawled as he tugged his shirt back on over his head. He heard some mutinous mutter in response from under the covers, and, pitying the redhead, tossed his pants over to the sulking lump on the bed. With a weary sigh despite his good mood, he looked away.

This wasn't right. Why did these things keep happening? Okay, they happened because he was horny and kinda liked the way Kagami kissed. But why did he just always fucking lose control when it was with him? With girls, there was restraint; never that uncontrollable _desire_. Not to mention, he'd never in his life even thought about touching another guy's dick…but with Kagami underneath him…he hadn't been able to resist.

_It was worth it_, the little voice in the back of his mind whispered slyly. _That look on his face_…

That look…that look was yet another of Kagami's erotic expressions that was etched into Aomine's memory whether he wanted it there or not. Okay, so perhaps they'd instinctively gotten competitive…but Kagami had 'lost' as it were…and when he'd reached orgasm, Aomine had been greeted with the sexiest moan, and an expression of pure ecstasy that had pushed him over the edge. Kagami, with his eyes lidded, mouth hanging slack and fringe plastered to his forehead with sweat…it had been a thoroughly attractive image.

He actually felt a strange sense of pride.

…Accompanied with a sense of growing apprehension. Was he treating this too casually? Was it weird that he was entirely not bothered by the fact that he'd just engaged in somewhat sexual activities with another guy?

The answer was no. Simply because, it was Kagami. And apparently, in his own mind, that was a good enough reason.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ you don't have the key?" Hyuga exclaimed crossly, almost stamping his foot impatiently as he waited for Kiyoshi to drift to the edge of the pool on his inflatable chair.

"...You bet Imayoshi that I would swallow it," he explained with a cheerful grin, "I wanted you to win."

"So now we're _stuck_ like this?" he complained in exasperation, dejectedly shaking his wrist, the handcuffs that linked him to Touou's captain clinking mockingly.

"I'm sure Kise has like, bolt cutters or something lying around," Kiyoshi shrugged helpfully, "Ask Takao to pick the locks or something; I bet he can do it."

"...I'd actually agree," Imayoshi concurred and Hyuga grudgingly had to admit that that wasn't an entirely unreasonable suggestion. He suddenly spied his ace making an appearance at the bottom of the stairs; looking hung over as all hell, and like he hadn't had a great deal of sleep.

"Aomine!" Imayoshi remarked, "Momoi found you? Have you seen Takao?" He found himself blatantly ignored.

"Have you seen Kagami?" Hyuga tried, "Himuro was looking for -"

"He's still in bed," was the only response he got. Hyuga and Imayoshi exchanged suspicious looks, but Aomine had already disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, where Momoi was fetching water to aid their rather hung over and feeling-sorry-for-themselves teammates. She turned, and was startled to see Aomine making an appearance.

"A-Aomine-kun," she stammered awkwardly, "I uhh...where...is...what happened?" Aomine didn't answer her question; not wanting to go into detail. "...Uhh...did I interrupt something?" He paused, midway through grabbing himself a glass of water.

Hmm... he hadn't even thought about it. That's right, he'd kissed Kagami this morning, too... Why? They weren't drunk. They weren't around people... He'd just woken up, found Kagami's face close and his body wrapped in his arms, and he'd just decided to go for it. And well, that had woken up the other ace, at least a little...and a kiss became kisses, became getting handsy became Aomine being rather tempted to have a repeat of last night.

Sometimes he wished he could just wake up and kiss the guy without having the gnawing feeling of 'shouldn't this be bothering you' eating at him. But that was a thoroughly sappy thought, and he didn't appreciate it.

In any case, even if he wanted a repeat; wanted to do stuff with Kagami, the idiot didn't seem to be all that into it; not in the light of day at least. Even if he was willing while drunk...this morning he probably _would've_ punched him in the face. He looked like the thought had crossed his mind when he'd realised what was happening. Maybe it was a good thing that she'd kicked the door open; would've saved him getting his advances (if they could be called advances) straight up flung back in his face.

Tch, he'd definitely gone too far. He might not be quite so bothered, but Kagami definitely was, and Aomine didn't know what he would do if he was flat out 'rejected' in a manner of speaking.

"No," he snorted, with an indifference he didn't feel. "...You didn't interrupt anything." And with that, he took his glass of water, tucked his hands into his pockets, and stalked off, back towards the others.

Momoi watched him go in confusion. She was sure, _so sure_ that she'd accidentally burst in on he and Kagami...and something about his manner suddenly seemed _off_. And of course it would have something to do with Kagami. She felt a little concerned, and didn't know why. Maybe someone should check on Kagami...make sure he was okay? She would go and check on Aomine later, when it was less blatantly obvious that he wanted to be left alone.

Sometimes she worried about him. About _them,_ actually. Sometimes she was worried that they would wind up hurting each other or messing things up before they figured everything out. Right now, she felt like that. She knew without a doubt that something had happened between them last night, so Aomine should be jumping for joy, if she was right in her thinking -and she doubted that her woman's intuition had steered her wrong. Had Kagami said something? No, that wasn't like him. He didn't have a cruel bone in his body.

Who knew for sure what was going on?

...Certainly not them, it seemed.

* * *

**Well there we have it. A certain level of sexual tension is acknowledged (not as steamy as it could've been, I acknowledge, but here's me trying to ensure it doesn't get removed, etc, etc). I know our beloved idiots are taking their sweet time with figuring out what's happening, but after something like that, how many options are there really? I think it's nearly time for a heart to heart or two...**

**As always, I shall try to get the next chapter up ASAP. **

**Note: I personally think Sakurai is adorable. Also ****_Exciting Communication_**** is a AoKaga duet, if you didn't know already, and by god do I love their singing.  
Much love,  
xx K **


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, oh my goodness, apologies upon apologies; I am so sorry for this long waiting time. Writer's block is a very terrible thing, and I've been trying to push through it for days. Hopefully this chapter is okay; it was difficult trying to get everything to fit together the way I wanted. Much love; thank you for being so patient! Kinda a set-up chapter...but hope it gives you hope for the future ones!**

* * *

"Takao-kun…does something seem off about Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun these days?" Kuroko inquired curiously as he sipped on his water bottle as their friends all began packing up their gear and debating about where they were all going to go and get food. The sun was beginning to set on a rather intense few 'friendly' matches, and the courts were filled with the victorious laughter of the winners and the mutinous grumbles of the latest losers.

" –Pay up, Imayoshi!" Hyuga smirked triumphantly, stalking up so that he drew even with Touou's captain and puffing out his chest victoriously. He held out a hand expectantly but Imayoshi just chuckled with a smug little glint in his eyes.

"I'll pay for your food, and we can call it even," he offered lightly, "Wherever you want." Hyuga raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but withdrew his hand, wondering how much he could get away with ordering.

"…Fine," he sniffed, though he managed to pretend that he wasn't entirely satisfied with this, "And seriously, I can't believe you played so badly today…"

"Ahh, well, we all have our off days," Imayoshi shrugged, though he didn't sound in the least bit disappointed in having lost the bet of how many points he could score. Wakamatsu, Kiyoshi and Izuki stared at the pair of them from a few paces behind.

"That is _underhanded_," Wakamatsu deadpanned.

"Tell me about it," Izuki remarked flatly, "…Who loses a game on purpose like that?"

"…Well…Imayoshi isn't exactly conventional," he reminded him with a helpless sigh, "Do you think he's just messing with him?"

"_You're_ his teammate," Izuki reminded him.

" –Like that means anything when we're talking about Imayoshi!" Wakamatsu hissed.

"I think it's cute," Kiyoshi commented with a chuckle as Imayoshi looked back over his shoulder with a small smirk that made the three of them shiver a little.

"…Should we tell Hyuga?" Wakamatsu inquired, and they exchanged glances, looking up ahead and seeing Imayoshi slyly press a finger to his lips. Immediately they agreed that silence seemed like the best course of action for the meantime.

Takao raised an eyebrow at Kuroko's question and looked over to where Kagami and Aomine were arguing about their latest game. Apparently Aomine had been getting a little pushy under the basket, and Kagami was telling him to play fair. The bluenette was smugly glaring down at him, apparently having gotten away with a touch of roughhousing, and Kagami was scowling back. Takao noted with a touch of amusement that the redhead's eyelids had fallen almost to half-mast and he seemed to be looking at Aomine rather expectantly.

However, Aomine just turned away and headed over to get his things; causing Kagami to glare after him and moodily spin his ball on one finger; frowning.

"If you are referring to the way that Aomine seems to be playing 'hard-to-get', then yes, something is _off_," Takao remarked back to Kuroko and sighing, "What's the deal? When Aomine beats Kagami, they argue, sometimes shove each other a bit, and then Aomine always kisses him and looks like a smug bastard."

"Ahh, so you've noticed too," Kuroko nodded, "I should've expected as much."

"Damn straight," Takao chuckled helplessly, looking over to where Kagami was watching Aomine leaving; the bluenette merely raising a hand in farewell as he and Momoi headed off after the others. Kuroko frowned as he and the point guard made a great show of lingering around while the others filed from the court.

"…It does seem unusual," he admitted, "Aomine-kun never misses an opportunity like that to kiss Kagami-kun; he doesn't seem to notice that Kagami-kun has realised that and waits for it now…and have you noticed that –"

" –That he doesn't stand too close?" Takao finished, "Just what I was thinking, my friend. Arm's length or what?" Kuroko nodded. They can't have been the only two to have noticed. Usually Aomine and Kagami (though Aomine especially) were big on physical contact in some way. It was sometimes as simple as their elbows brushing when they walked; or more commonly, the arm slung around the shoulder. Almost without fail these days, if Aomine beat Kagami in a game, he would lean in during their post-match argument, and press a mocking kiss against his lips, and pull away looking ever-so-pleased with himself. And Kagami would tell him he was an embarrassing jerk, but always be secretly happy, and usually kiss back.

And now, having been denied that expected kiss for not the first time that week, he looked undeniably disgruntled, and more than a little disappointed.

"…Something happened at Midorima-kun's party, didn't it?"

"Oh _totally_," Takao sighed, "I wonder what it was. They haven't been acting different…apart from Aomine you know, kinda backing off…but at least they're still talking…"

"Kagami-kun appears frustrated," Kuroko added with a small frown, watching as the redhead almost aggressively biffed his ball towards the hoop and missed by a mile; dejectedly wandering over to retrieve it as though there was something playing on his mind.

"Maybe he needs some cheering up?" Takao remarked brightly, practically skipping over, "Kagami! What's got you looking down?"

"Huh?" Kagami remarked, surprised to see the point guard traipsing over with his boyfriend facepalming in the background with their things, "Oh uhh, nothing…Aomine's just being a jackass."

" –Ahh, disappointed because he didn't kiss you?" he inquired lightly, though there was a trace of mischief in his voice.

"Sort of," Kagami muttered automatically, and then immediately tried to take it back as Takao sniggered playfully, "No! I…that's not what I…I thought you said…don't laugh!"

"Sorry, sorry," Takao chuckled, "Couldn't resist! Do enlighten me; what's Aomine done this time?" He kept his tone light, but really, he was practically dying of curiosity. Aomine and Kagami _together_ had walked in on him riding his Shin-chan (though he'd been preoccupied at the time and hadn't made any wild assumptions until later on), and a tearful Momoi had said that she'd found them in bed together the morning after the party. She'd been thoroughly distressed, because Aomine had been in a stormy mood, and she had assumed that it was because she'd interrupted something. Not to mention, Kagami and Aomine didn't exactly have a G-rated record when it came to alcohol…

Though, Takao would have thought that perhaps if something had happened, they would've been acting a little differently? Apart from Aomine seemingly making a point of not physically interacting with Kagami outside of usual basketball play, they were both acting exactly the same.

"Ugh…he's just…pissing me off…" Kagami replied incredibly vaguely, as Kuroko appeared at Takao's elbow and informed him that Midorima had gone with the others to get something to eat.

Kagami would have really loved to know what was pissing him off so much.

"Is something the matter with you and Aomine-kun?" Kuroko inquired, "You seem a little…distant."

_Distant_. That was a fucking good word for it, Kagami admitted to himself as he started playing against an invisible opponent to distract himself. Takao had shocked him with the little jibe about the kiss, but in all honesty, he _was_ a little disappointed. It was kind of a routine that he and Aomine had unconsciously gotten into, and he kind of liked it. But _again_, Aomine hadn't done it…and for some reason, that annoyed him.

Ever since the party…Kagami didn't know what it was, but there was something _different_. He didn't _feel_ different, and kind of thought he should. First sexual experience with a guy –first sexual experience in general –so he thought he should maybe have been a little affected somehow.

And yet, he wasn't. He'd liked it. He didn't _regret_ it. Even that it was with Aomine wasn't so bad.

Actually…maybe it was because it was with Aomine that he didn't have a problem with it…

In any case, he would've thought that maybe things might get weird between the two of them after that. After all…how often did guys jerk each other off without it getting weird? But…everything was so _normal_, except for the fact that Aomine would barely touch him unless Kagami physically attempted it…and even with that he felt a little desperate, trying to brush up against him whenever possible.

Damn Aomine and how he could make him feel so _weird_. He'd thought that he was beyond craving the heat of someone else's body…but apparently not. He was as much of a testosterone-driven teenage boy as anyone…his focus was just directed to another guy…his greatest rival. It was absolutely maddening remembering how good it had felt with Aomine...only to have any of that physical contact he had grown so accustomed to suddenly being torn away...

"Kagami-kun?" Kuroko queried once more, when he saw that Kagami had sort of spaced out.

"Uh…nothing's wrong," Kagami shrugged, and really, that was kind of the truth.

"Did…did something happen at the party?" Takao ventured, deciding that really it was now or never to find out if anything had gone down.

"What?" Kagami shot back hurriedly, and cursed himself for how guilty he immediately sounded, "I mean…what? Why would you ask?"

" –It's just that you seem like there's something bothering you," Kuroko informed him, which was the truth. Kagami, though maintaining the picture of normality, had been off in his own thoughts recently, and it didn't take a genius to look at the timeline and figure out that he was likely focused on something that had happened at Midorima and Kise's birthday party.

"Oh," Kagami replied awkwardly, wondering how much he should say. Okay, so he should've expected those two to notice. Kuroko was his best friend –a far too observant best friend at that, and not much escaped Takao's hawk eyes. He'd been thinking a bit about what had happened –and wondered if Aomine thought on it either. They were drunk, sure…that could _kind of_ account for what had happened…but in the morning they'd been sobering up, and it had very nearly happened again. Doing _stuff_ seemed a whole lot more _real_ when done sober as opposed to drunk.

That was what had kind of freaked him out when he'd realised what was happening. Things were getting too…too _real_ these days, and he didn't know how to feel about that…_should_ he be feeling anything real in a fake relationship?

Apparently Kuroko and Takao were waiting for an answer. What could he say to them?

_Oh, I've just been thinking about how Aomine and I got drunk at the party and jerked each other off, and I kind of liked it and how now he won't even kiss me and that somehow pisses me off. _

"Uhh…we…yeah, we kissed…a bit…" he finally decided to admit. There was no way in hell he could tell them exactly what had happened…after all, he and Aomine (who had been directly involved) didn't even really acknowledge such things –despite the guy grabbing his dick in the morning with a sultry whisper of "_you liked it…" _which was a whisper that had begun to haunt his dreams…

"I see…" Kuroko remarked dryly, but Kagami decided to think that he believed him. It was definitely easier that way. "And Aomine-kun is…annoying you more than usual?"

"Yeah," Kagami muttered, glad that at least that much was the truth. Kuroko and Takao exchanged glances. "The guy's a jackass."

"Really? You seem to make out with him quite a bit…" Takao raised an eyebrow. Kagami turned a little red.

"Well…he's a good-looking jackass," he sniffed hesitantly, and his two friends stared at him for a moment, "What? I can acknowledge that! That's the whole reason these stupid things happen…" His sentence trailed off into a mutinous grumble, practically looking at his body as though blaming it for reacting to Aomine.

"…I see," Kuroko repeated flatly, not commenting on how Kagami probably should've gone with the 'he's my fake boyfriend' explanation.

" –Don't say it like that!" Kagami snapped crossly, "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing."

"Well, you sound like you are!" he growled, "And I don't like it!" He glared down at his shadow, who was looking the picture of innocence, "He pisses me off!"

"I never said he didn't," Kuroko pointed out, "And yet…you just admitted that you are attracted to him?" Kagami scowled darkly and scoffed irritably.

"I…I guess…" he muttered, "But only kinda physically! Like…I can admit that he's hot –for a guy, I mean…his personality and everything else just makes me angry! He's a bastard." Kuroko and Takao exchanged disbelieving glances that the annoyed Kagami didn't see, and Takao suddenly had a sly little idea. He wondered whether or not Kuroko would catch onto it.

"I can see where you're coming from," he admitted, holding up his hands to accept a pass. Kagami tossed him the ball, grateful for the distraction from the conversation, "He's arrogant as hell."

"Tell me about it," Kagami snorted crossly, "The bastard never shuts up about how _great_ he is…"

"And he's lazy," Takao added and the redhead made a noise of agreement, adding, "He _never_ cleans up after himself; he always lets _me_ do it. I don't _really _mind all that much…but it's annoying."

"Yeah, it must be a pain having him at your house all the time," the point guard continued lightly, and saw Kuroko raise an eyebrow almost approvingly. Good, he knew he could rely on him to support this.

"Ahh, at first, because he just acted like he fucking lived there…" Kagami sighed heavily, "But you know…I'm kind of used to it now. It's not all bad."

"But doesn't he steal your clothes?" Kuroko inquired curiously, and Takao resisted the urge to snicker.

"Well, apparently they're _our_ clothes," the redhead snorted, "So technically he doesn't _steal_ them. And it makes sense to share since we're both the same size and it means he doesn't have to go home as early after our one-on-ones." By the end of his sentence, his voice was sounding a little happier and Kuroko almost gave the game away by smiling at how joyful Kagami sometimes sounded when talking about hanging out with Aomine.

" –But it can't be fun having someone stealing your food all the time?" Takao queried with a roll of his eyes and a smirk, "Sakurai said that Aomine used to always steal his lunch at practice, but now he doesn't –"

"I got annoyed with him picking on Sakurai so sometimes I make him something for lunch instead," Kagami snorted, "He likes my food, even if it would fucking kill him to admit it; and it stops him from being such a fucking bully. I like cooking, so…"

" –So when you complain about him eating your food…" Kuroko teased and Kagami shot him a dark look.

"Don't tell him I don't mind or he'll start putting in requests," he warned crossly and Takao laughed out loud at the thoroughly serious look on his face. He had no doubt that should Aomine learn that Kagami actually liked cooking for him, he would most definitely exploit that.

"He likes to boss you around a bit, doesn't he?" the point guard admitted and Kagami openly scoffed at such a suggestion.

"Not a chance," he snorted, "He _tries_ to!"

"I guess that's why you two fight all the time," Kuroko admitted, and Kagami paused before taking his shot, shrugging slightly.

"It's not like we actually mean anything we fight about," he replied, "Except when he says he's so amazing. He'd dead serious about that, but everything else is pretty much him talking shit. It's kinda funny though, I guess. You should _see_ how sulky he gets when he loses!" He laughed, and again, Kuroko and Takao just looked at each other, wondering how it was possible for someone to be as oblivious as this.

"He must be awful when he loses one-on-ones," Takao continued, since it was obvious that Kagami wasn't even listening to himself.

"It's not so bad," he admitted, "He gets over it pretty fast and the next one's even better."

"Doesn't it get boring to play against him so much?"

"Never," Kagami laughed, "I could never get bored playing basketball with him!" At the mere mention of their epic battles, his tone brightened and suddenly took on that passionate voice that only two things in the world (three, including the promise of food) could rouse. "Like…sometimes we just play for hours and hours and every game's like a new challenge…Actually…I guess everything we do is kind of like a competition…" He chuckled to himself and then flushed at the memory of a certain event that had also apparently become a competition.

"Oh, we're well aware of that," Kuroko deadpanned, and he promptly missed his shot; startled and horrified that somehow the shadow had read his mind. "…Remember the Christmas party? You two have always been ridiculously competitive…" Kagami coughed self-consciously and breathed a sigh of relief, despite having just been reminded of the stupid make-out competition that he and Aomine had been goaded into.

"Going to his games must suck then," Takao added slyly, "Since you like playing _against_ him."

" –Are you kidding me?" Kagami scoffed, "Have you _seen_ him play, ever? It's insane…it's like…" He trailed off; apparently not able to find the right words to describe just what Aomine's games were like. Both Takao and Kuroko understood though. It was true that Aomine was straight up amazing, and his games were incredible…but there was awe in Kagami's voice, and yet also some kind of defiance which showed that he was not intimidated by the monster ace of the Generation of Miracles.

Kuroko couldn't help but smile softly at the look that Kagami was wearing as he dribbled the ball, strides suddenly filled with vigour at the mere mention of one of Aomine's games. He wondered if Kagami knew the kind of expressions that thoughts of Aomine could evoke.

"I remember a particularly memorable game…" Kuroko decided to comment, and Kagami looked at him curiously, "…Remember that one where he dedicated his free throw to you?" Immediately, Kagami turned bright red and looked away in embarrassment, indicating that he very much remembered that particular game as well.

"…Oh, I heard about that from Imayoshi," Takao remarked, "Didn't like half the bleachers turn to look at you?"

"Yeah…" Kagami commented, a little tempted to shrink down like he had back at that game. "It was so fucking embarrassing…" Well, that was what he maintained, and it was true; it had left him with a flaming face and a mental note to punch the guy…but he'd been secretly a little happy about it. It was a kind of nice gesture after all…

"…He really likes embarrassing Kagami-kun," Kuroko explained, though that clarification really wasn't all that necessary, since Takao had been present on many an occasion where Kagami had found himself embarrassed by his so-called 'boyfriend'. Kagami resisted the urge to pout. That was _incredibly_ true. Aomine fucking _loved it_ when he got all embarrassed, and never failed to point it out…but he didn't mind _that_ much, no matter how much he would yell at him for it.

Actually, now that he thought about it…there were a lot of things that he didn't mind about Aomine. Maybe even a couple of things that he _liked_ about the guy.

He _did_ like how he liked his food (it was always nice to have someone who appreciated one's cooking); kind of enjoyed hanging out with him at his house –it was nice to have the company, and it was often kind of strange not having him there; he'd grown so used to his presence. Admittedly, he liked the way he and Aomine were comfortable enough to share clothes (it sure saved buying new ones)…and he always secretly liked it when the ones he was wearing smelled a tiny bit like him. Actually...he liked how just generally _comfortable_ they were around each other...how things never really got all that weird and they could just be their hot-tempered, basketball-crazy selves.

He loved playing basketball with him; loved the challenge and the way they always fought about everything. It kept life interesting, and it made him…it made him happy.

Sure, Aomine was annoying, but was he really? If he was that annoying, he could just not hang out with him. He was arrogant sure, but that stemmed from completely justified confidence that was both aggravating and attractive.

Sure, he liked how he kissed. He liked the way his hands felt on him, and he liked that smug-ass face. But he also liked his laugh, and liked his smile –that smile that melted the hard lines on his face and made his eyes light up gleefully. He liked how they both loved basketball and burgers, and the way they always took advantage of each other's pride to rile each other up. He liked it how Aomine would come to his games, and pretend not to watch, but after Kagami had made a particularly good play, he could look over and see that he'd been watching intently, with a glint of excitement in his eyes...

Takao and Kuroko watched the realisation dawn on Kagami; watched his hand freeze mid-dribble and his red eyes blink in astonishment as he suddenly became aware that contrary to what he had believed…there were a great deal of things that he actually _liked_ about Aomine.

"…Yeah," Takao couldn't resist saying sarcastically, "It must be _so hard_ dating a jackass with no redeeming features." Kagami felt his cheeks heating up as he swallowed, his heart suddenly beginning to thud dramatically in his chest. How had he not realised any of these things about Aomine before? How had he not noticed how many of these things he liked and were yet not physical? Why hadn't he understood the connection between his low moods and Aomine's lack of presence in his day-to-day life? Had he really been so naïve as to think that his mood and everything could be so affected by a guy who he was only physically attracted to?

"Oh this penny is taking fucking forever to drop," Takao sighed with a shrug, as Kagami seemed to be struggling with the information he had practically just been spoon-fed. His eyes were wide and he seemed both stunned and confused and a little apprehensive.

Thankfully, the sound of someone approaching the courts broke him from his stupor, and the three of them turned to see who was heading over towards them.

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi hollered in delight, seeming in a thoroughly gleeful mood. Her cry was the only warning Kuroko received before he was wrapped in a tight embrace and left practically gasping for air. Takao raised an eyebrow as he spied Aomine himself trailing in Momoi's wake, carrying what appeared to be a large paper bag.

"You guys sure are back quick?" the point guard remarked curiously, though found himself suddenly being ignored, since Kuroko was being hugged, and Aomine stalked past him and shoved the paper bag into Kagami's hands.

"What's this?" a still-processing Kagami inquired automatically.

"Food, moron," Aomine snorted back in a bored tone, jamming his hands into his pockets. "I thought you'd want some." Kagami stared for a moment and then peered down into the bag, seeing that despite not being quite as many as he would usually eat, there was a considerable number of burgers in the bag.

_Aomine had bought these for him_?

"Uhh…where's yours?" he inquired tentatively.

"Wasn't hungry."

"Liar," Kagami scoffed, "You're just going to steal them!"

"I bought them."

That smug look was already driving him up the wall.

"Then just buy some to start with!"

"…This is much more fun…"

Kagami scowled and practically stormed over to pick up his things, the warmth of the paper bag seeping into his hand and reminding him that despite Aomine being a bit of a dickhead about it…he'd been thoughtful enough to bring him some dinner. His cheeks heated up.

Oh how the fuck had he continued to think that the guy was actually such a jackass?

"Hurry up," Aomine complained, "I wanna go play video games."

"Aomine-kun! I thought you were going home!" Momoi sighed in exasperation, and then her expression changed when she looked over at Aomine and saw the look in his eyes as he glanced over at Kagami, who was apparently dealing with some kind of inner argument currently. She read his reply and a quick look at Takao and Kuroko informed her that they'd seen it too, even if Kagami hadn't, and even if Aomine wasn't aware that he'd given it.

_I am_.

"…Fuck…those two kinda make me choke up a bit, sometimes," Takao remarked, wiping away a fake tear from the corner of his eye, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Not those two…" Momoi and Kuroko deadpanned, despite the lightness of situation. They watched as Aomine tapped his foot impatiently, only for Kagami to complain about him needing to learn to stop being such a brat. The redhead seemed to be sporting a bit of a blush, and Takao again noticed that Kagami almost _hopefully_ tipped his chin up for a kiss, only for Aomine to look away and sidle away slightly so that their elbows didn't make contact.

"God, I have never felt more like a fifth wheel," Takao remarked with a sigh. Of course, as soon as Aomine shows up like that, he had Kagami's full attention (which was more often than not his motive). He wondered how much Kagami had realised. Maybe he and Kuroko had been too obvious. Midorima had insisted that Kagami and Aomine needed to figure things out for themselves in their own time...but there were those among their friends that were worried that they were going to wind up hurting each other or wrecking things before that happened. Takao knew that his boyfriend was _definitely_ going to withhold sex from him for his part in the interference, but if it finally got Aomine and Kagami on the road to being as happy as he was with his Shin-chan, then it was worth it.

"Momoi…" Takao suddenly commented, seeing that the pink-haired girl was staring after the two aces with a strange, soft expression crossing her face. "…Is there…did something good happen?" Momoi just giggled happily.

"Hmm…something like that…"

* * *

"Is…is everything okay with Aomine and Kagami?" Hyuga inquired of Momoi when the group of them that had decided on grabbing burgers headed on into the joint. Momoi cocked her head quizzically, and looked ahead to where Aomine was scanning the menu with disinterest.

"I…why do you ask?" she asked.

"Well…a few of us have started to notice that he's being…a little…_different_ towards Kagami," he admitted with a small shrug, "It's nothing bad…he just…doesn't seem to want to be close to him."

"Oh?" Momoi frowned, thinking back to the afternoon that Touou and Seirin had shared –with Takao and Midorima's presence of course. Now that she thought about it, Aomine _had_ been a little different these past days. He didn't kiss Kagami quite so much –which was only noticeable because it had almost become a regular sort of gesture. Was that maybe what Hyuga was talking about?

"I don't know," Seirin's captain shrugged, "I just…I don't want to ever go back to the days when Aomine was practically ignoring him."

"I don't think any of us want to go back to then," Imayoshi sighed dryly, "This whole hot and cold thing is getting rather exhausting, don't you think? One moment they're all over each other…then they're not speaking…then they're inseparable again and then Aomine's back to playing hard to get." Their teammates around them all sighed in shared sympathy.

"Ahh…" Momoi's eyes grew a little sad, but didn't voice her opinions out loud, because that wasn't fair to him.

For a long time, she'd known that the person that Aomine Daiki liked most in the world was himself. That was by no means a bad thing; god knows that more people should like themselves. But the thing was that he didn't know how to share that. He didn't _want_ to share that, because if he let someone else get too close, then they could hurt him. They could have power over him, and he probably thought that that would make him helpless.

It sometimes did seem like Kagami had some strange sway over Aomine; and Aomine realised it. What he probably didn't realise was that the other ace would never use that against him. It wasn't fair for Kagami to be given the cold shoulder like this over and over. She just _knew_ that she'd interrupted something at Midorima and Kise's party (as much as Aomine denied it), and whatever had happened had acted as yet another trigger to set up a fresh wave of Aomine being cold.

Maybe it was time to say something? Kagami was too kind-hearted and had put up with Aomine's drama for too long.

"Aomine-kun," Momoi remarked, as Aomine apparently finished ordering. He glanced at her sideways with a disinterested look on his face. She put on her best scolding look and placed her hands on her hips as he handed over some cash to pay for whatever he'd ordered.

"Are you going to make a scene?" he complained flatly.

"…Stop being so cold to Kagamin," she scolded with a frown.

"Hah?" Without waiting for a response, he turned and headed for the door, obviously intending to wait outside until his order was ready. Momoi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, since he had blatantly ignored her, so followed him out into the car park.

"Aomine-kun!" she exclaimed crossly, trying to get his attention.

"What do you want?" he inquired irritably.

"I want you to be nice to Kagamin again," she explained firmly, "You're being so hot and cold with him and I don't know why! And don't deny it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snorted, of course doing exactly what she told him not to. She made an annoyed noise.

"Yes, you do!" she sniffed, "Aomine-kun! You have to stop running from people who make you happy."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he repeated, though this time there was a touch of ice to his tone that made her less inclined to believe him.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about," she sighed, "You and Kagamin? Every time you two start getting along better and you start actually letting your guard down around him, you turn and back off!" She made an annoyed noise and resisted the urge to stomp her foot as his eyes narrowed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"Liar!" she exclaimed hotly, "What's going on with you these days? I wish you'd just _talk_! To me, or to Kagamin...I don't know! But stop messing around with his head!"

"Satsuki, stop."

"No, _you _stop! You're making him sad, and just like before, you're going to make yourself sad too!"

"God, stop it, woman…"

"I'm worried about you!" she sighed in exasperation, "And him! I don't want to see either of you upset and grumpy again..."

"Seriously, just drop it!"

"You do this _every time_! You just can't let people get close to you, can you? Every time you start to feel –"

"How can you say that?" Aomine suddenly snapped coldly, ice in his gaze, but his jaw clenching in a way that she couldn't describe. Through her small outburst, she'd seen his jaw tightening and his fists clenching, and his sudden response confirmed that there were things going through his head that she wasn't aware of. There was something conflicted in his eyes, but that changed to shock as he too seemed surprised by the next words that came tumbling out of his mouth.

"How can you say that I always do this, when this is the first time I–"

Aomine bit off his sentence hurriedly, but she had already heard, and he let out a disgusted scoff and looked away, angrily shoving his hands into his pockets.

"…I left my wallet inside," he muttered darkly, "Go get my change."

Wordlessly, Momoi obeyed, wondering at what he had actually maybe been about to admit. Had she just imagined it? Surely not. She'd heard with her own ears; and they were practically burning now with what Aomine might have just been about to say.

His wallet was still sitting on the counter, his change sitting next to it. After quietly explaining to the cashier, she took it and was sadly tucking the money into one of the pockets, feeling ever-so-guilty about having yelled at him…when she noticed something.

Inside the wallet; in the pocket with a small wad of cash, there was a loose piece of paper. As she pushed his change in amongst the other bills, it came free, and her eyes widened in astonishment and understanding as she realised what it was.

It was a photo.

It wasn't just any photo. It was a copy of one of the ones she herself had taken while they were on vacation at the beach. She'd been trying so very hard to get a nice picture of Aomine and Kagami, but Aomine being himself had decided not to put in any effort…only to very suddenly grab Kagami and kiss him passionately on camera.

This was one of those photos; one where Aomine had his lips pressed up against Kagami's; tongues obviously entwined and their hands trying to almost cheekily bat away the camera; though their lidded eyes were trained entirely on each other. Kagami was blushing, and she could tell that they were both smiling.

He said that he'd chucked out all the photos she'd given him.

…And yet…here was one…sitting in his wallet…which he carried everywhere.

"…Aomine-kun…" she whispered quietly in wonder.

" –An order for fifteen cheeseburgers?" the cashier called out a while later.

Aomine heard the door opening, and smelled cheeseburgers as Momoi sat down beside him. He clamped his mouth shut; thoroughly embarrassed by his own words only a few minutes earlier. What the hell had possessed him to say something moronic like that…_hell_, at least he'd managed to stop himself in time.

_…How can you say that I always do this, when this is the first time I've ever really felt like this? _

He was turning into some fucking sap, and he knew it, and it was because of _Kagami_.

A bag of burgers was placed on his knees as he dejectedly sat on the curb, and then his wallet was laid neatly on top of it.

"…I saw the photo."

_Fuck_.

He'd forgotten that was in there. Sort of.

No one was supposed to know that was there.

"I'm sorry I yelled. I…I said things I shouldn't have," she murmured quietly.

"Hmm…" Aomine shook his head with a heavy sigh, "No…_I_ said things I shouldn't have."

"Aomine-kun! That's not true! If it's what you really feel then you –"

"Stop," he growled flatly, "…We're not talking about this."

"Aomine-kun…you have a picture of you and Kagamin in your wallet," Momoi sighed in exasperation, "I think there's something we need to talk about?" He rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff, looking over at her. There was a touch of concern, and a whole lot of questions dancing in her eyes; questions that he wasn't prepared to, and didn't want to answer. But her confusion made him feel guilty…and she seemed to misunderstand him.

"…Something happened with me and Kagami at the party," he admitted flatly. She was a clever girl. She'd figure it out. Her eyes practically fell out of her head, but he stopped her questions with a sharp look. "…I might've pushed him too far; I don't know. So now…" he just shrugged again, not willing to offer her anything else to work with.

He didn't have to explain himself. Not that he could've put it into words without being more embarrassed than he currently already was.

When he had looked into Kagami's startled eyes the morning after the party, he had seen the possibility of rejection, and for some reason, he just couldn't handle that. All through that day, he had tried to convince himself that rejection was a fact of life; that shit happened…but all through that day, he found himself less and less able to deal with even the _idea_ of Kagami rejecting him; even for a moment. Even if he didn't say it out loud, he knew he'd sort of found a…_kindred spirit_ in Kagami; a rival and someone deserving of being called his equal.

And losing that, he came to realise, was not something he could deal with.

And so, weighing things up…he had decided not to push his luck. Not yet. He knew what Satsuki was saying; he knew that he turned hot and cold. So this time, he just backed off a little; gave Kagami space to breathe…and didn't make any advance on him. He would wait for Kagami to initiate something, because then he would know that he wasn't bothered by what had happened –because if Kagami started it, then Aomine couldn't possibly wind up being the one getting rejected.

It was perhaps childish logic…but Satsuki had been right in saying that he didn't let people get close. He didn't know what else to do.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Momoi inquired curiously, though she knew the answer.

"There's nothing to tell," he snorted dryly, "Can we go? I don't feel like hanging out with those guys."

"Sure," she replied, "Where do you want to go?"

"Home," Aomine replied, "But we're going back to the courts first." She nodded brightly; just once, and watched as he got up from the curb, tucking his wallet back into his bag. She understood, and felt bad that she hadn't seen it before.

Usually, Aomine _did_ run. Usually he turned and ran away at the first sign of starting to feel something for someone. He didn't do relationships –at least, not well –because he tried to keep emotionally distant. Apparently Kagami, though, he was shattering down barriers left and right, and Aomine couldn't rebuild them fast enough.

She'd thought that that was why he was acting different; to set those walls up again…but it was quite the opposite, actually.

He said he'd 'pushed Kagami too far' so now…He wasn't running.

Rather, he was waiting for Kagami to come to him. Well, he was waiting to see _if_ he did.

And that was something new, that made her hopes lift. Perhaps there really was some hope for the two of them after all.

* * *

"Momoi-san?" Kuroko commented with a raised eyebrow as the three of them watched Kagami and Aomine's shoulders brush slightly. Aomine seemed to move away at the accidental contact, and Kagami seemed a little embarrassed as well, though she wasn't sure why. Momoi's gaze softened and she giggled to herself.

"Ahh…they're so sweet, sometimes," she laughed brightly. "I hope Kagamin has an epiphany soon."

"What, you mean Aomine already has?" Takao joked, and she just shrugged noncommittally.

"Maybe," she laughed, "Maybe they're both cleverer than we give them credit for?"

"…I don't know about _that_…" Kuroko and Takao remarked dryly, exchanging glances. "But…" Takao shrugged, nodding over to where the pair of them seemed to be jostling each other as Kagami tried to eat one of his burgers in peace, which was, as always, the cue for Aomine to try and steal one as well.

"…I suppose it's hard to tell, with them…"

* * *

**So yes, set-up chapter... but finally things are moving forwards, and I needed a chapter like this to get things flowing again. A bit sappy, I know... but... we gotta have a bit of that. A couple of sarcastic comments from Takao and Kuroko and finally Kagami might be starting to be just a tiny bit clueless. As for Aomine... what are his thoughts, and what's going to happen next...**

Most importantly... for once, Aomine's let the ball roll into Kagami's court. What's he going to do? Will he even realise?

So, I do hope that this one wasn't too disappointing for such a wait, but again, apologies, and I think I started this chapter at least six different times trying to get the one that melted away that writer's block. (And, I will update very soon, coz I've got big plans. Plans that maybe involve a bit of steam...And I feel bad for the long wait)  
Much love, hope you enjoyed nonetheless. (Soz for long note!)

**xx K**


	19. Chapter 19

**Again, apologies for late updates; starting university again, meeting new flatmates (and therefore trying to not seem like a hermit haha). Writer's block is leaving me, so now it's making time for writing! Hope you like! **

* * *

Kagami had never had more trouble reading the atmosphere of a situation than the one he was currently in.

At present, he was in his kitchen, cooking. By itself, that was a simple situation. Aomine was in the living room, having demanded more food, since the burgers he'd bought for (and subsequently stolen from) Kagami, hadn't been enough for either of them. He was watching some shitty sitcom and hollering out instructions or orders every so often, and Kagami was ignoring him. That too, was very normal, and had been very normal for quite some time.

However, last weekend, too many beers and a drunken hand job later, Kagami had woken up practically in Aomine's arms and then _almost_ let himself be drawn into a round two.

That was what was making him so confused.

Since the party, Aomine had barely strayed within arm's length of him when it could be helped. If Kagami stepped forwards, he'd find a way to step back; which proved to be rather frustrating for the redhead because he'd become so accustomed to the feel of Aomine's body against his in some way that he noticed its absence.

Completely being avoided; that, he would've understood completely. He would've understood if things had gotten way too weird, because really, they crossed a line. Making out was one thing. Grinding was on the border of that line...but purposely stroking another guy to orgasm was something far beyond the realms of _fake_.

That was something they both knew.

But there Aomine was, in his house, acting as casual as ever –like nothing had changed; only, he was going out of his way to keep his distance.

Why? Physical contact was a huge part of their friendship and somewhat-relationship! They'd always been up in each other's faces, shoving each other, mockingly slinging arms around each other's shoulders… The morning after that party things had still been the same; whilst still in bed, Aomine had…_approached_ him (he supposed 'came onto him' was a far too literal phrase) –and they'd wound up making out and getting hot and heavy once more. Even after Momoi had burst in on them, Aomine had seemed pretty damn into it –even going so far as to make mention of what happened… (sober, he might add…or relatively so, at least).

And now, nothing. Barely touched him, wouldn't kiss him…it was kind of irritating that he was stepping back like that but otherwise acting like everything was normal.

Kagami sighed heavily, moodily stirring the pasta sauce he was making. What was he to think these days, really?

…Especially after what Takao and Kuroko had been talking about.

Knowing those two little bastards, that had been their exact intention from the moment they'd started talking to him. He should've known it was some kind of evil trap to try and start him thinking weird things about Aomine…

Except that those thoughts weren't weird; they were just the plain old truth. There were so many things he liked about the guy that he just hadn't really thought about, or even thought about thinking about. He'd been so caught up in trying to convince himself that what he felt towards Aomine was purely physical that he'd been ignoring everything else.

"_Feed me_," Aomine grumbled obnoxiously from the next room, and Kagami's eyebrow twitched in irritation.

_See? The guy was an asshole_. _A fucking nuisance_.

And yet, he knew he wouldn't tell him to leave, because he didn't want him to.

Kagami looked out through the door, putting on an annoyed expression to hide the fact that he was actually sneaking a glance to see if he could spot some deal-breaking character flaw that he could use to remind himself that Aomine was a bastard and therefore allowing him to hate him normally once again.

"What –_what_ are you doing?" he deadpanned; resisting the urge to laugh.

"I'm bored," Aomine complained, hanging upside down from the back of the couch with his arms lolling uselessly on the floor and his shirt sliding down slightly. Kagami barely repressed the urge to lick his lips at the teasing sight of a sliver of tanned skin, and the way his pants were hanging just a little bit low on his hips.

"When am I getting food?" the bluenette grumbled, kicking his legs against the couch.

"Who said you're getting any?" Kagami sniffed crossly.

"…You already put out a plate for me," Aomine smirked, and Kagami cursed the fact that he was completely right. Without even thinking about it, he'd gotten two bowls ready for (second) dinner even before he'd started making it. "Hurry up…"

"Don't be such a brat," he scoffed, eyes narrowing to hide the fact that he was very much eyeing up that ever increasing patch of skin being revealed as Aomine's shirt slowly slid towards his chin. And then his gaze travelled in a different direction, wandering a little too eagerly towards the other ace's crotch. Memories and sensations flashed through his mind; remembering what it had felt like with his hand around Aomine's cock…kissing him and having him grind his erection against him.

Suddenly feeling his cheeks heat up, Kagami stalked back to the kitchen whilst attempting to maintain his composure. He tossed a few dishes into the sink and then gripped the edge of the bench tightly to try and return his mind to neutrality. God, when did he become such a pervert?

Aomine toppled to the ground with an annoyed grunt, and just lay there on the ground for a moment, weighing up his options.

This distance was driving him insane, despite how hilarious it was to frustrate Kagami.

And he _knew_ he was frustrating Kagami. He wasn't stupid. He'd seen the looks that Kagami would wear whenever he got close; knew that he was just _waiting_ for a kiss. Of course, that just made it even more amusing to not give him one…but it was pissing him off, because he fucking wanted to.

He'd vowed that he was going to wait; going to let Kagami initiate something –because then he would know that he too, was okay with what had happened. Some people would have said he should've just said something; just _asked_ Kagami if he was okay with it…but the thing was that _fuck_, they always did this; they always pretended that things didn't happen.

…Which usually worked quite well for them…except that this time, Aomine had been forced to acknowledge, finally, that he wanted more of those memories with Kagami.

Because hell, with the memory of what had happened at the party, masturbation had never been so good –and yet also so frustrating. Sure, it was great having the memory of Kagami's hands on him…but it was nowhere near as good as actually being him.

But nothing like that was ever going to happen again unless Kagami was okay with it having happened once. Rejection was ugly, and Aomine was used to dealing it out, rather than having it served to him…and he desperately didn't want it coming from_ him_. He didn't like it, but he'd finally found someone who had the power to hurt him, and it made him thoroughly uncomfortable.

There'd been chicks in his short life; hook-ups, sort-of-girlfriends, even a fuck-buddy or two, but none of them had ever managed to get his heart racing or his blood boiling like Kagami did. He never enjoyed spending time with them like he did with him. He'd never felt so happy to receive a text or a call…never felt so sick to his stomach when they weren't talking.

Hell, this fake relationship was _the_ longest relationship he'd ever been in; hell, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had to wait longer than a month for sex!

Not that he'd entered into this thing with any thoughts of sex. He'd been more preoccupied with the fact that he was going to have to go _without _it. He'd been pissed off, annoyed that he was going to have to actually get along with the guy, and irritated that Kise had made such a dumb suggestion.

And now, here they were in July, and Aomine could hardly look at Kagami's grinning face without feeling his heart flutter like a teenage girl on her first date with her crush, in a bad nineties high school flick.

He was a rude, male, 6'4 basketball player with an attitude problem and a blatant disregard for other people's feelings. Under no circumstances should he be able to make that kind of comparison!

And yet…he couldn't repress that flutter; could barely hide the way Kagami's smile spread to him; couldn't help but immediately feel his mood brighten at the promise of a game with him in the near future. It was sickening…but a chronic, incurable illness that he had resigned himself to.

_How gross_.

Now, Aomine wasn't used to not getting what he wanted, so _god so help him_ he was going to get Kagami to start something. Sure, he hazarded that if he kissed him now, the guy would kiss back, because that was just how things worked these days…but that wasn't enough. That reaction was too automatic to be any assurance.

No. He wanted Kagami to start something, for a change, even if he had to goad it out of him.

If there was anything he was good at, other than basketball, it was riling up Kagami Taiga.

" –Go away," Kagami complained as Aomine entered the kitchen and immediately made a beeline for the pasta sauce that he had been busy cooking. He knew exactly what the other ace was going to do, and immediately swerved to intercept him.

Aomine was faster though, and managed to grab a spoonful of it before Kagami reached him.

"Oi, it's hot! You'll burn yourself!" he snapped crossly.

"Worried about my wellbeing now, are we?" Aomine teased with a smirk, licking the spoon clean and ignoring the fact that maybe he'd burnt his tongue just slightly. He immediately ducked around Kagami to grab another spoonful –it was fucking delicious.

" –Get out," Kagami glared, barring his way and snatching the spoon away as Aomine brought it back to his mouth. " –You're going to make a mess!" Almost instantly, sauce went spilling down the bluenette's shirt –though Kagami realised with a sigh that it was one of his. Chuckling wickedly, Aomine gave up momentarily and headed over to the fridge, taking out the milk carton.

" –Don't you fucking dare," Kagami grumbled, seeing the taunting look in Aomine's eyes as he went to take a swig of it straight from the carton –the way he knew the redhead hated. "You're a fucking savage, you know that?"

"And what?" Aomine smirked, taking a long scull from the carton and then ever-so-slyly running his tongue across his lips to clean up the drops that had spilled down to his chin. Kagami made an aggrieved noise and snatched the milk from him, shoving it back into the fridge with possibly a little too much force.

" –Are you trying to piss me off?" he complained hotly, though he knew the answer.

"Why? Is it working?" Aomine snickered, taking advantage of Kagami's sudden distraction to duck back to the pasta sauce and dip a finger in.

"You're disgusting –keep your hands out!" Kagami groaned. God, why did it have to be like a one-on-one even in his own damn kitchen? Of course Aomine was purposely winding him up like he often did. He swatted Aomine's saucy hand away from the pot, which unfortunately flicked some up onto the wall. He groaned in exasperation, but couldn't help noticing the sneaky way Aomine still licked his finger clean.

_Was he _trying_ to drive him crazy_?

And then Aomine got his spoon back…and so began somewhat of a battle, during which Kagami tried in vain to keep the bastard away from the food, while also trying to make sure that neither of them burned themselves. This is course resulted in pasta sauce winding up on the floor, on themselves, and on the bench. Kagami was fairly sure there was some in his hair.

"Ugh…what are you doing?" he groaned, wiping some sauce off his face and automatically licking it off his face. He was really finding it quite difficult to stay mad at Aomine for making a fucking mess of his kitchen. It was times like this that he always could remember fondly –this was what their relationship was like, and he didn't want that to change.

And then suddenly there was a flash of pasta sauce in his vision, and he knew that Aomine was intending on wiping some of that on his face. Normally, he would've ducked aside…but for some reason, (and Takao had pointed it out), he'd been somewhat _conditioned_ to open his mouth whenever he saw something headed for it.

Before he was really aware of what was happening, he had two of Aomine's fingers in his mouth, and his tongue was rolling across them, licking the pasta sauce off them.

Aomine's eyes widened and he swallowed _hard_ as he watched Kagami's eyes flutter closed slightly as he sucked on his fingers, tongue working between them to clean the sauce off them. He felt a low moan building in his throat but pushed it down and just let himself enjoy the accidentally far-too erotic sight before him.

Shit. How was it possible for someone sucking on his fingers to be so fucking _hot_?

Sort of pushing his luck, he let his fingers trail a little deeper into Kagami's mouth, his thumb brushing across the redhead's lower lip as his own eyes sank to half-mast. For a moment he let himself imagine how that mouth would feel wrapped around his cock; that tongue swirling around his flesh like he was doing right now –

…Shit, Kagami was looking at him. And even Aomine could see a flicker of lust in the back of his eyes. Slowly, the redhead retracted his tongue, releasing Aomine's fingers with a soft pop as the blush rose to his cheeks.

_Do it_, Aomine growled in his mind; eyes practically roaring the challenge at Kagami. _Just fucking kiss me!_

"…I'm going to have a shower…" Kagami muttered, quickly taking the pot off the heat and abruptly escaping from the room. Aomine made an aggravated noise in his throat and moodily leaned up against the bench, wiping his damp fingers against his crotch and letting out a soft hiss as he closed his eyes and tried to imagine the feeling of Kagami's lips wrapped around him…God, he could just see it now; Kagami on his knees in front of him…those lusty red eyes glinting up at him as he licked up his length and slowly began to take him in…

Fuck.

And then Aomine raised an eyebrow and wondered if Kagami had left the bathroom unlocked.

* * *

Kagami practically leapt into the shower and gratefully rested his forehead against the tiled wall to try and calm himself down. Shit. Shit. What was his fucking _problem_? There was nothing _normal_ about sucking on some guy's fingers like that. Especially since, for a moment; just a moment, the thought had crossed his mind that it was something _other_ than digits that he was sucking on…and the thought hadn't repulsed him.

He had _actually_ just thought about sucking off Aomine Daiki –and enjoyed it.

"Ugh…" Kagami groaned in exasperation. How was it that Aomine just had a way of getting to him –had a way of making him lose his mind like this? He laid a hand over his thudding heart and desperately willed away the arousal that had very suddenly taken over him.

Maybe he really _was_ craving contact.

God, how pathetic was he?

This was just…this whole situation had gotten so _fucked up_.

How did it end up like this? It…it was just a fucking kiss under some mistletoe for some fucking prank by Kise and Kuroko, and now here he was, hiding in his shower. Before Christmas, they'd just been rivals that could barely tolerate each other. Now what were they? They could often barely keep their hands off each other. They'd made out so many times, spooned and woken up together, jerked each other off and moped when they weren't talking (not that either of them would admit it).

And as much as he tried to remind himself of Aomine's flaws (and he had a considerable number of those), he just couldn't hate him. In fact… it was quite the opposite.

Kagami sighed and distractedly started washing pasta sauce out of his hair. He wondered what it could mean that though he'd considered himself entirely straight for his whole life, he was far more interested in a man than he had ever been in a female. He'd _done_ more with a male than he ever had with a female.

Certainly, no girl had ever made him feel how Aomine made him feel. No kiss and no touch from a girl had ever given him the rush and hammering heart that Aomine's did.

Maybe that could mean…

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened.

"Oi! Get out, I'm in the shower!" Kagami squawked, cursing that he'd been in such a desperate rush to escape that he'd forgotten to lock the door.

"I'm covered in pasta sauce, Bakagami. I need to clean off," Aomine snorted flatly, and if Kagami had've seen him at that point, he would've seen his eyes glinting with mischief.

"Well whose fault is that?" Kagami snapped crossly; thoroughly glad that there was a shower curtain between them.

"I didn't spill it on myself," he drawled back with a smirk.

" –Well…" Kagami didn't have a comeback for that, but suddenly gave out a yelp as the shower turned incredibly cold. He lunged forwards away from the stream of water and grabbed at the curtain, peering around it to glare at Aomine, who seemed unaware of what he had done. He was about to curse him to hell when he suddenly became very aware that Aomine was busy cleaning his shirt.

And to do so, he had apparently had to take it off. The scolding fell from his lips as his eyes roved across Aomine's sculpted body as the bluenette dumped his stained shirt unceremoniously in the sink and splashed water onto his face. The water dripped down his chin and slid in droplets down his tanned chest. Kagami wordlessly let the curtain fall back into place but couldn't help but make sure it fell so that if he stood _just so_, he could still see what Aomine was doing.

Oh yes, Aomine was thoroughly aware that he was currently being watched, but doing incredibly well at pretending that he had no clue. That time at the beach had been an excellent way of attracting Kagami's attention –and reaffirmed that he was completely hot as all hell. So…why not try it again? Maybe that would force Kagami's hand?

…_Hopefully literally…_

Knowing that there was a pair of intrigued red eyes on him, he let the warm water roll down his chest as he loudly unbuckled his pants and let them hang low on his hips as he scrubbed at them to clean the sauce out of them. It was uncharacteristically quiet in the shower.

Almost innocently, he brushed some water back through his hair and tousled it slightly, being sure to roll his shoulders so that Kagami got a decent look of them. He knew he was being fucking shameless, but this was so much tamer than dry humping the brains out of another guy. He just wanted –_needed_ to tempt Kagami into action…because…

…Because what if he was the only one who felt like this?

Slyly, he looked back over his shoulder and watched a red head swiftly duck behind the curtain. He smirked to himself.

Kagami panted heavily and quickly got back to his shower. Had Aomine seen him looking? Shit. Shit. Fuck. God, to be caught so obviously perving on him was ridiculous! Maybe he hadn't seen him. But _god _Aomine was an attractive bastard…

Letting out a short breath, he decided to risk another sneaky look. Slowly, he began inching towards the gap between the shower curtain in the wall and peered around it…

…Only to come face-to-face with the smug expression of Aomine Daiki himself, hand casually on one hip and looking as though he'd just caught Kagami stealing from the cookie jar.

"…See something you like?" Aomine inquired with that wicked smirk he always loved wearing. Kagami gave a wild yelp of embarrassment and sprang backwards, clutching the shower curtain around himself to preserve an ounce of modesty.

"N-No!" he stammered in embarrassment; blush spreading up his neck and across his face with the mortification of having been found out.

"That's what your mouth says, but your face says otherwise," Aomine smirked smugly; eyeing the horrified expression on Kagami's face and trying desperately not to laugh, "…What are you hiding?" he added slyly, tugging on the shower curtain.

"Quit it! Who's the pervert now?" Kagami snapped back quickly, trying to turn this back on him.

"You were the one watching me undress," Aomine shot back rather smugly. Their banter never really went this far, but he wanted to see what Kagami would make of it. "…Fair's fair, Bakagami."

"Like hell it is!" the redhead exclaimed hotly, feeling the other ace yank on the shower curtain again, "Go away! You're the one who burst in here when I was showering!" There were a few more insistent tugs and the curtain fell away with Kagami letting out another most-unmanly yelp and quickly cupping himself in an attempt to try and conceal his nakedness.

Aomine wanted nothing more than to join him in that shower. He drank in the way that Kagami's hair was plastered to his face, and how the water was trickling down his perfect body in thin trails; beading on the edges of his muscles and then coursing onwards. And then Kagami had one of those brief flashes of complete and utter lack of shame.

"Fuck it," Kagami snapped flatly, deciding that since Aomine was going to be fucking weird today, he could be just the same. Too annoyed and desperately hoping that this would make him seem entirely _un_-mortified, he took both his hands and tucked them neatly behind his head, leaving him completely on display. He saw the way that Aomine's eyes drifted down his abdomen and then lingered on his naked crotch for a moment.

Aomine's mouth fell open and ran dry as he stared. Maybe there was a god out there that had granted his unuttered prayers for a glimpse of Kagami completely naked. There he was, in all his glory, casually standing under the spray as though completely unbothered. Did Kagami know how…_sexy_… (_yes_, he just thought that) he could be? Did he know how he looked when he ran his hand back through his hair like that…

…Though, maybe, if there was a god, he was a cruel one…because though Aomine wanted to be in that shower and pressing Kagami up against the tiled wall…the guy being naked wasn't an invitation, and he was meant to fucking wait. And somehow, Kagami was _not fucking taking advantage of this opportunity._

Hell, Aomine was standing there shirtless and dripping, his pants already undone and sinking on his hips, briefs hanging low…and Kagami _wasn't_ dragging him into the shower. Could he have been _any_ more tempting?

…Maybe…maybe that really did mean that…maybe he really was the only one…

And so, despite all that was going on in his mind, Aomine concealed his disappointment and forced down the lust in his eyes, and simply quirked an eyebrow with a disinterested, "Huh" as if to say 'Oh…I was expecting more.'

"What do you _mean_, 'huh'?" Kagami squawked, insulted, as the bluenette turned with a shrug and began heading for the door. Aomine just shrugged dismissively, grabbing his shirt and casually slinging it over his shoulder.

_Man…he sure knows how to make an exit_…Kagami couldn't help thinking to himself as he dropped his hands and sighed heavily, tugging the shower curtain back closed. He appears naked in front of Aomine and all he gets is a disinterested 'huh'? Would it have killed the guy to say anything? He started it, after all.

His breath was shaking a little, unable to believe that he had just done that! He had literally just shown off completely naked! God, he really was becoming a pervert! Aomine hadn't recoiled as he thought he would, but…a small part of him was glad that he wasn't repulsed by his body. That small part of him was the part that had wanted to yank Aomine in there with him…and admittedly that part wasn't all that small.

* * *

While Kagami finished his shower, Aomine lounged on the couch and reached into his wallet to pull out the photo that he kept there. Satsuki wasn't meant to have seen it; she wasn't meant to know about it. At least, she hadn't mocked him for it –though she had the rest of her life to do that.

He didn't really even know why he kept it with him. One day, Satsuki had just brought over copies of the pictures from the vacation and when eventually he'd deigned to look through them, that one had stood out. _That one_ had caught his eye for some reason –that one over all the others, and he'd just sat there, looking at it for what was probably an unreasonable length of time.

There was just something about looking at that picture that kind of…lifted his mood.

That had been a great day, he remembered. A fucking weird day, but a good day still, and that picture reminded him of it. There was something about it that he liked –because it seemed different from other pictures that had found their way to the internet. In this photo, even though he knew that Kagami had probably been a couple of seconds away from punching him in the face for being an asshole about it, they looked happy.

He both loved and hated it for that reason.

And yet, he hadn't had the heart to chuck it away. Instead, it had wound up in his wallet, which went everywhere with him. And that bloody woman had found it, and probably assumed something stupid…like that he carried it with him to remind him of Kagami.

Like he needed anything to remind him of that moron; the guy was constantly on his mind these days, as much as he tried to avoid thoughts of him.

Looking at it also reminded him of a certain cliché kiss on a beach, under the stars; where Kagami had looked at him as though he was the only thing in the world.

Fuck. This was fucking _shit_. He rolled onto his front on the couch and agitatedly looked at the picture, kicking his legs as he stared at it.

_What did Kagami think? _Was Kagami drawn to him in the same way that Aomine was drawn to him?

He wasn't used to being hung up on a person's feelings and opinions like this; purely because usually, he didn't give a flying fuck about them. But Kagami _mattered_, and he hated that, but as much as he tried, he couldn't hate _him_ and couldn't _really_ hate the way he made him feel.

"What are you looking at?" Kagami inquired curiously, a few minutes later. Aomine practically leapt off the couch and crammed the photo into his pocket, tumbling to the floor. The redhead looked down at him with a raised eyebrow; catching the bluenette looking thoroughly guilty.

"Nothing," he answered immediately, "You took a while. Were you jacking off?"

"What the fuck is your problem?" Kagami snapped back, embarrassed by the question though the answer was 'no'…not that he hadn't thought about it.

"I don't hear a _no_," Aomine mocked, rolling away as Kagami aimed a half-hearted kick at him since he was already on the ground. God, making Kagami blush should be a sport; he might be even better at it than basketball.

"You're a bastard," Kagami snorted, heading to the kitchen to actually dish up the food he'd been preparing before their little food fight got in the way. "Why didn't you help yourself? The food's ready…"

"Too much effort," Aomine drawled back, lolling on the couch and secretly thanking some deity that Kagami hadn't caught him staring all sappy-like at that fucking photo. He smirked to himself as, in spite of his complaints, Kagami still brought over a plate of food for him. Behaving himself, he kept to his side of the couch, though he noted that the other ace automatically lifted his arms expectantly so that Aomine could sling his legs up into his lap like he always did. They had really gotten into some strange routines, hadn't they?

"Tekken?" Kagami finally offered, though he hadn't been quick enough to hide the slight disappointment from his voice. The weight of Aomine's legs on his lap was always comforting and familiar…and he was a little annoyed that he wasn't even doing _that_ when he'd gone so far as to be okay with seeing him naked…

"You're going _down_," Aomine chuckled daringly, and Kagami's eyes narrowed, glancing over at him and seeing that same competitiveness reflected in his eyes.

"Shotgun Devil Jin!" they exclaimed at the same time and then swore.

"Eight versus eight?" Kagami inquired.

"You fucking know it."

Kagami knew he should've been faster with shotgunning Devil Jin. Aomine was far too good fighting with the girls and he was losing terribly now.

"One more game!" he exclaimed aggressively, tempted to throw down his controller in anger when he lost again.

"Face it Kagami, the only one who can –"

"_Don't say it_!" Kagami glowered crossly, glaring over at him and seeing Aomine quirking an eyebrow at him, _knowing_ how much that stupid catchphrase irked him. "_Again_!" Thunder rumbled from outside and they both looked over at the window to see that at some point in their many, many games, it had started raining quite hard.

"Four on four?" Aomine suggested with a smirk, "Or do you want me to only use one character –"

"Shut it, asshole, I'm gonna beat you this time," Kagami snapped crossly, mutinously selecting his characters for the fighting game and sitting forwards on the couch to show that he was getting serious about this. Aomine sniggered at him.

Two games later, Kagami decided that he was going to have to start playing dirty. This wasn't basketball; he was allowed to be as underhanded as he liked.

So when the next game started, he immediately scooted closer to Aomine on the couch and jabbed him in the elbow, knocking him off balance.

"Cheat!" Aomine snapped angrily.

" –I did no such thing!" Kagami smirked playfully, jostling him again and causing him to lose the match.

"Oh, you're fucking paying for that," he growled, "I had an awesome winning streak going on!"

"I'm so scared," Kagami mocked, and received an elbow to the gut as the next round started. He doubled over and shoved Aomine almost violently, sending the other ace sprawling across the couch.

"Hey!" Aomine snarled, lunging for him again and tackling him back against the arm rest. Kagami managed to shove his face away with one hand and continue playing with the other, until the pair of them toppled to the ground with an ungodly crash.

"YES!" Kagami exclaimed triumphantly as he won the match, only to find his face pushed into the floor by a sore-loser Aomine; unimpressed at having been defeated by such means. The next match started quickly, and Kagami struggled to properly free his hands from underneath him as the pair of them wrestled. The redhead rolled violently to try and dislodge Aomine, but just ended up on his back, staring at the screen upside down.

"No! No!" Aomine howled aggressively as Kagami jostled him with his knees and made his controller go flying. Kagami let out an overjoyed bark of laughter as that caused the other ace's defeat, and relaxed gleefully, sprawling out on the floor. Only then did he realise that Aomine had wound up straddling his hips; closer than he'd been this entire week.

The bluenette was sitting back on his haunches; too pissed about losing the round to notice his positioning. Kagami swallowed the moan brewing in the back of his throat as his breath hitched at the familiarity of the positioning. True, last weekend, it had been him with his legs spread and Aomine grinding between them, but…Aomine was back on top of him…and it felt good.

Aomine glanced down at Kagami lying beneath him as he slowly became aware of their positioning. He was getting a sick feeling in his stomach, and he wasn't quite sure why. Why wasn't Kagami doing anything? God, he felt so fucking desperate doing this, but he didn't like this sudden insecure feeling he was getting…and there was a strange feeling of panic rising in the back of his mind.

He watched Kagami avert his eyes sheepishly and clambered off him, cursing himself and feeling his heart sink in a way he wasn't all that familiar with and found he hated. Dejectedly, but pretending he was angry at losing, he threw himself back down on the couch and _sulked_.

"Aomine…" Kagami looked over at him and laughed at the cross pout the other ace was currently. "Oh don't be such a baby!" Aomine glared at him crossly and received a controller to the ace. "Okay, I'm sorry for ruining your win streak!" He glanced out the window and saw that it was bucketing down like nothing else.

"…Uhh…" he coughed, looking at the time and noting with surprise that it was somehow nearly midnight. How long had they been playing for? "Do…do you want to stay tonight?"

"No," Aomine growled back childishly, but Kagami knew that he actually meant 'yes'. He sighed and rolled his eyes, clambering up off the floor and rubbing his shoulder. What was Aomine's problem these days? He yawned and shrugged to himself, grabbing the dishes from dinner and heading to the kitchen. He knew Aomine was sulking, but didn't know why. They always took turns winning by devious means…

"Stupid Kagami…" Aomine muttered crossly to himself, looking up over the back of the couch and glaring at the redhead's back. The knowledge that he couldn't get Kagami to kiss him, kind of hurt and made his heart wrench uncomfortably. He was used to people wanting him; was used to being chased and being approached. He never did the chasing, and therefore he had never dealt with…the possibility…that someone wouldn't want him.

Did Kagami just play along? Was that why he rarely started anything?

_Was it all still just a show to him?_

That thought hurt more than he thought it would.

"Are you coming?" Kagami inquired a few minutes later, when he'd finished washing the dishes.

"Hah?"

"Bed?" the redhead reminded him, trying to not blush at the idea of taking Aomine to bed with him.

"Couch is fine."

"Like _hell_ it is," he scoffed, gesturing for Aomine to head to the bedroom, "You'll just fucking complain all of tomorrow about being stiff and sore and I don't wanna hear your bitching."

He had an excellent point. Aomine knew that the couch was too small for him to sleep comfortably, and if he woke up all cramped he probably wouldn't shut up about it. He sighed in resignation, trying his best to seem like he wasn't in a sulk about something. He wanted to share a bed with Kagami, sure…but it certainly seemed like Kagami was thinking of things more platonically than Aomine would've liked.

But suddenly, Aomine found himself rather tired, and yawning against his will as the redhead decided that it was time to start getting ready for bed. Despite his words, Aomine did _not_ want to sleep on the couch, and stalked off to Kagami's room as the other ace headed for the bathroom. It didn't take a lot of rifling through his drawers to find a pair of sleeping pants, and the bluenette undressed and tugged them on without too much thought.

Refusing to acknowledge the twinge of disappointment and small ache he was feeling in his chest, he shut off the light and slunk into the bed. It was cold. He listened to the rain clattering down on the window and tugged the blankets tighter around him. His mind was going haywire over this whole fucking situation. He so badly wanted to just grab Kagami, push him down and kiss him absolutely fucking senseless; maybe even something more…but not if Kagami was going to punch him and throw him out of bed.

He huddled up in one corner of the bed in the dark and shivered slightly. Maybe he should've put a shirt back on.

"Oi…Ahomine, why'd you turn the light off?" Kagami complained in a sigh as he returned to his room a bit later on. He heard no response and assumed that the bastard had gone and fallen asleep already. Running a hand back through his hair he decided against turning on the light and just stumbled across to his bed in the dark. He slid under the covers with a shiver –when did his room get so cold –and found to his surprise that there was already a body occupying the space he usually slept.

"_Aomine_!" he groaned, shuffling in and nudging him over.

" –I'm cold," Aomine complained, moving over slightly into the cold part of the bed and automatically recoiling up against the heat of Kagami's chest.

" –Stick to your side," he snorted, jostling him aside. Aomine made a noise of complaint, but moved over nonetheless. There was silence for a moment, apart from the beating of rain down against the windows. Kagami shivered and curled up a little. Strange that Aomine was so okay with being close to him in a bed when he'd been trying to stay away…Maybe he should…

"Uhh…" he began quietly, rolling onto his side and looking at Aomine's back. He looked like he was sulking. "If you're cold…you…uhh…we…" He trailed off, wondering how to suggest they huddle together for body warmth without sounding super weird. Eventually, he decided to screw the words and just moved a bit closer and tentatively pressed his warm chest to Aomine's back.

"…What are you doing?" Aomine snapped suspiciously, looking back over his shoulder.

"You were the one who said you were cold!" Kagami squawked in his defence. Aomine rolled over now, so that they were chest to chest, and he could make out the redhead's features in the dim lighting.

"Well yeah…" he grumbled, "…But I'm no little spoon…"

" –Wait, _that's_ what you have a problem with?" he exclaimed crossly. He saw Aomine's eyes glaring at him firmly, telling him to roll over and be the little spoon. "No. You were cold. You be the little spoon!"

"Not happening."

"Hey! I thought I was doing a nice thing!" Kagami snapped flatly, "Fine, be an asshole about it and freeze your ass off!" He rolled over huffily, and a few moments later heard a snigger and felt an arm drape around his waist as a warm breath tickled his neck.

"…Was that so hard?" Aomine smirked triumphantly.

"Oh, like hell…" Kagami snapped, suddenly rolling away and physically pushing Aomine away onto his side, wrapping an arm around him tightly. The bluenette let out an annoyed yelp and rolled again. The unsaid challenge was rather clear.

_Loser is the little spoon._

"You really think you're stronger than me, Bakagami?" Aomine scoffed.

And so began the newest battle in their saga. Aomine had forgotten momentarily that he was trying to keep at arm's length; mostly because the bed was cold, and because Kagami had practically just questioned his dominance –a slight he could not let slide.

The pair of them grappled with each other, grunting and laughing and trying to act angrier than they were. Their wrestling warmed the bed slightly, but they didn't notice, because like usual, they were caught up in their competition and each other.

And then suddenly, Aomine froze, giving Kagami the opportunity to pin him to the bed; straddling his hips and hands planting victoriously into the pillow either side of his head. But he didn't even get a moment to gloat, because he saw that for once, Aomine's gaze was not fixed on him. Instead, he was looking at something that was sitting on Kagami's bedside table.

Kagami swallowed nervously, knowing exactly what he was looking at and immediately wondering what he could say to explain it.

"I…Aomine…I can…" he stammered out, but it quickly became apparent that the other ace wasn't listening to him. He expected a stunned, questioning glare thrown his way…but received nothing of the sort. Instead, he saw Aomine's face soften in a way that made him feel a little choked and set free butterflies in his stomach. His blue eyes were…_affectionate_? And he was smiling slightly.

…Was he really looking at the photo that Kagami thought he was?

He risked a glance across at the bedside table and realised that _yes_, that photo was what had melted the hard lines from Aomine's face.

It was the photo from the beach; the one that Momoi had taken of the pair of them kissing. Kagami had been so close to punching the guy for being so embarrassing, but seeing that photo had made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside in the cheesiest of ways, and he'd decided to get it framed. He liked it being there, and hadn't really understood why…but if it was true what he maybe realised after talking to Kuroko and Takao…then it made sense.

He felt hands on his thighs; just lightly, and looked down in embarrassment to see that Aomine was looking at him. He wasn't demanding an explanation; wasn't saying a word –he was just looking at him…and Kagami recognised that look. It was the same look he'd worn on a moonlit beach one night before kissing him; a look just so full of _him_ that his chest physically ached.

Kagami's breath caught in his throat as he and Aomine just stared at each other for a long moment. Aomine, with lidded eyes and lips slightly parted, seemed to be waiting for something; his hands on the redhead's thighs still and tentative. Swallowing hard, he wondered if maybe…

Slowly, with the overpowering urge to lean down and claim those slightly smiling lips, Kagami leaned down and pressed his lips against Aomine's; just lightly. Almost immediately, the other ace responded; kissing back hungrily as one hand tightened on Kagami's thigh and the other slid around to grope his ass almost desperately. The redhead couldn't help but press back into his touch instantly, deepening their kiss and pressing his tongue into Aomine's eager mouth. God _yes_. He wanted this so, _so_ bad; craved this touch and his kiss.

_Had Aomine…had he been waiting for him to kiss him?_

If so, then Kagami put that thought to the back of his mind. He didn't care. He absolutely didn't care about anything right now except for the feel of Aomine's hands gripping his backside needily and the familiar pressure of lips against his own.

Aomine's heart had never beat so fast as it was now. He was letting Kagami dominate the kiss for the moment, but he knew that wouldn't last long. It physically hurt to try and keep his flaring desire in check. His lips were tearing at Kagami's; hips slowly bucking up against the redhead's ass and feeling him grind down on him. Almost desperately, he thrust his tongue between Kagami's lips and relished the low moan he received in response. Tanned hands flew up to crimson locks and gripped them tightly, tugging Kagami close and forcing their chests to press up against each other. Something much akin to a whimper escaped Kagami's lips as the redhead ground down against Aomine's pelvis, hands gripping the sheets tightly.

Kagami, needing breath, pulled his lips away and began slowly kissing a trail down Aomine's jaw, towards his neck. He didn't know what had come over the pair of them, but he _liked it_, and he recalled how much he enjoyed lips on his neck…maybe Aomine would like it just as much. They were in his bed, making out as though their lives depended on it, and he wanted to feel him moaning because of him.

He softly kissed the other ace's pulse, suckling gently at the skin and feeling a murmur of appreciation spill from Aomine's throat. He added a little more pressure, hips automatically rolling down to force more contact.

"…Harder…" Aomine hissed, and didn't know whether he was talking about the kissing on his neck or the way Kagami was grinding on his lap. Kagami mercifully sucked harder at his throat and also ground against his hips more forcefully.

Aomine moaned, right in Kagami's ear, and if it wasn't the most arousing sound he'd ever heard in his life. Kagami panted heavily into the crook of the bluenette's neck, tongue tracing the hickey he was working on as he felt Aomine's hips buck up against his ass. _That_ felt good.

Fuck…Automatically, he ground back, feeling Aomine's hands grip him tightly again in encouragement of the way he was moving. He could hear the bluenette breathing heavily in his ear as he forcefully sucked mark after mark into his neck. There was heat pooling in his gut and he couldn't believe that he'd managed to go a week without kissing him like this. Now that they were finally pressed together, Kagami was forced to realise how addicted he had really become to Aomine's touch.

"Kiss me again…" Aomine whispered hoarsely, and Kagami gladly obliged, their mouths clashing violently as the redhead found himself dragged in closer by a strong arm wrapped around him, and Aomine's other hand slyly sliding down the seam of his ass and lower; sending a shudder of pleasure through his body.

Aomine quite liked the feeling of Kagami straddling him like this. He felt him shiver as he ghosted a pair of fingers down the seam of his ass. With a thick chuckle, he began rubbing his fingers along that line, over and over again; feeling Kagami grind back into them needily as though seeking more pressure.

_Fuck…I really do want to fuck him_…

Lips and bodies connected furiously; starved of contact from the past week and the same lust they had been drunk with the weekend before threatening to bubble over. Kagami eagerly accepted Aomine's tongue deep into his mouth and let out a throaty moan, eyes glazing over with desire and seeing the same look reflected in Aomine's deep blue orbs. He felt a tanned hand slide between them and cupped his dick; palming it seductively.

"W-wait…" he whispered, his voice coming out a little more hoarse than he would've liked. He couldn't help but buck his hips into the tanned hand cupping him.

"…Why?" Aomine murmured back, teeth nipping at his throat, feeling the redhead growing harder by the moment. Kagami swallowed sheepishly and tried to hide his confusion and nervousness, but the other ace saw it in his face despite the dim lighting. Slowly, and more than a little reluctantly, he removed his hands from their wandering and gripped him by the neck, pressing two hot kisses against his lips and then chuckling smugly to himself as he trailed his tongue teasingly along the edge of Kagami's lips. The redhead let out a soft moan, tongue slithering up against Aomine's lustily before withdrawing to his own mouth. He wanted to cool down -he needed to. Even though the heat from Aomine found amazing...he didn't want to go too far before he knew what was happening. He couldn't let their heads get so clouded by lust and pleasure that he wound up doing something he'd regret.

"…You…you win…" Aomine muttered breathlessly, not liking the admission of defeat…but his heart soaring like it hadn't ever before. He rolled so that he was no longer pinned underneath Kagami and lay on his side expectantly, trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his chest. God, that fucking idiot...making him feel like this even without sex...Actually...even with sex...he'd never felt like this before in his life. He prayed that Kagami would move close and embrace him, which was strange, because Aomine was in no way partial to being spooned.

Kagami just sat there for a moment, breathing heavily and running a hand through his hair in confusion as he tried to think things through.

What…what had just happened? He and Aomine had just…

_Kiss me again_.

That was what Aomine had said. He had…he had actually wanted to kiss him. And this…

He slowly lay down, moving up against Aomine and wrapping an arm comfortably around his chest. There was no need to spoon now, because they were warm from their wrestling and from something else…but they both just liked the closeness, though that went unsaid. Aomine grudgingly snuggled back against him, but hid the smile that was gracing his lips. Relief washed over him as he felt a warm cheek nuzzling up against the back of his neck.

_Kagami had kissed him. Kagami kept the photo of the pair of them next to his bed._

He wanted to pout about being demoted to little spoon, when he was obviously more suited to being the big spoon in this sleeping arrangement. But Kagami had _fucking kissed him_. He'd stopped him before anything else had happened, but he was strangely okay with that. He wanted to touch him; wanted to be inside him (which sounded weird in his head, but a good kind of weird)...but he knew that this was more than just sexual attraction. He understood that so well now; because he was okay with stopping; he was okay with just lying there in Kagami's arms.

_Fuck, what kind of monstrous sap had Bakagami turned him into? _

That night was the best night's sleep that Aomine Daiki ever had.

* * *

**I hope that was an enjoyable read! Aomine being a bit of a perv, and a bit more realisation and the likes going on. There will be some steam (though perhaps not in the way you might think) next chapter, and perhaps an unbearable amount of cuteness, so you've been warned. **

**Even though I was writing this, the entire chapter I was just thinking "Kagami, you f***ing moron, kiss him, dammit! He wants you to kiss him!" They don't call him ****_Bakagami_**** for nothing, I suppose. Though it seems that they're slowly reaching the same page! Soon...soon!**

**Much love, see you next chapter!  
xx K**


	20. Chapter 20

**As ever, apologies once again for my horrid lack of updates (if anyone's interested in my life, I've been back at university for two weeks and _did_ manage to survive Orientation Week yet again -and have had some delightful bonding days with my flatmates. This has, however, restricted the amount of time I have to update, so please forgive me. Silly day-to-day life and getting in the way of my fanfiction lol). In any case, this is _sorta_ a set-up, intermediate kind of chapter, and there will be more insight and such in the next.**

**For a brief steamy teaser, follow the link at the end of the chapter!  
Read on, read on; hope you enjoy**

* * *

Kagami hummed cheerfully to himself…which was weird, because usually, he wasn't the humming kind of person. Then again, he wasn't the kind of person to sleep through his alarm, and yet he'd managed to do that this morning.

He blushed furiously to himself as he toyed with the eggs in the pan, having decided that he rather felt like scrambled eggs today. Waking up this morning had been…well…

…It had been really nice.

Not that he'd ever admit it. God, no; that was way too sappy and Aomine would probably rip the _shit_ out of him for it. He didn't know exactly how it had happened, but he'd woken up with half his body draped across Aomine's; cheek practically nuzzling into the other ace's tanned chest with Aomine's arm wrapped around him. For some reason, he'd woken without panic, and with a sleepy smile on his face; not in the least bit bothered by his position. For a while, he'd just lain there with the warm late morning sun trickling in through a gap in the curtain. His ear was pressed to Aomine's warm chest, and it was somewhat soothing to listen to him breathing.

Since it had been obvious that Aomine was still asleep, Kagami had slung his arm across the other ace's torso in a loose embrace and had snuck a sneaky glance up at his dreaming face. He looked so _peaceful_ when he slept –and dozing smoothed out all the hard lines that had been carved into his face from so much scowling; something that actually made him quite a handsome-looking man.

Seeing Aomine so…_soft_ had made Kagami's heart flutter quietly, and he'd had to smile a little; despite the fact that he'd woken up cuddling his rival and supposed-boyfriend. But he didn't care anymore. In fact, he probably could've lain there for hours; that was how comfortable he was.

But hunger had won out in the end, and he'd been forced to leave his bed to make something to eat. As he rolled over, he belatedly remembered that Aomine tended to be rather clingy when he slept, and his movement just wound up causing the bluenette to roll too; trapping Kagami as the little spoon in a tight embrace. It was a little hilarious that they were _snuggling_. Well, Aomine was snuggling and Kagami was struggling.

It had taken a great deal of wrestling, wriggling and tangling of legs before he'd been able to escape his bed –breathless, and exhausted despite the wonderful sleep he'd just had. And he was pretty sure he'd been groped at least once in his attempted escape, but as soon as he managed to tumble to the floor, Aomine rolled onto his face in the spot Kagami had just vacated, and promptly started snoring…so he presumed it was accidental.

And now he was in the kitchen, making breakfast and lost in his own thoughts, comfortable with the way he could still smell Aomine's familiar scent clinging to him.

Distantly, he was aware of the shower turning on, but just toyed with the eggs in the pan a little more, making sure they weren't too dry.

So, he'd kissed Aomine.

…Which in itself wasn't unusual. He'd lost track of the number of times they'd kissed; of the number of times Aomine had dragged him in close, wrapped his arms around him and kissed him…but Kagami didn't usually start it. Usually, he kind of just went with the flow, since Aomine took advantage of every opportunity to kiss him –but last night, he'd somehow finally understood, as he had Aomine lying still beneath him, that Aomine wanted to be kissed for a change.

And god had he wanted to kiss him.

He felt stupid for not having done it sooner.

…And there was the bonus of winning the position of 'big spoon'; which had been _most_ satisfying, especially with Aomine in a pout about it. He was _fairly_ sure, but not certain, that just before he'd fallen asleep, he'd felt a set of fingers quickly lace between his own –just for a moment –and the thought of that made him happy.

He could still feel the searing heat of Aomine's lips against his; could still feel the needy way tanned hands skated across his skin and gripped his ass with desire.

Actually, he was a little embarrassed at how obligingly he'd been grinding down against Aomine's hips. At the time, it had just felt too good to feel Aomine so close to him again, that he hadn't bothered with how desperate or _horny _he seemed…and now he was a bit shocked at how quickly he'd almost given over to lust. He'd wanted Aomine's hands on him; wanted to touch him right back, but the thing was, that he had the distinct feeling that if he let that happen…he wouldn't be able to stop. Sex with Aomine was not a foreign idea to him; the thought had crossed his mind more than once and he'd had more than one all-too pleasing dream where he had Aomine on his knees, moaning into his pillow and making all kinds of erotic faces as the ace of the Generation of Miracles was taken from behind… (That had been one of the first indications that perhaps he was a pervert…)

But sex was still sex, and Kagami had never done that before. So for that reason, a shred of panic had flashed through him; the same kind of panic that had roused him from his lust-induced stupor that one time in that bath, what felt like eons ago. He didn't really know _why_ he was panicking –he'd never really thought he was the kind of person who treated losing his virginity as something _special_…but the thing was that Aomine had fucked people before –fucked them and chucked them, as it were.

And Kagami found that he didn't want to be just another number.

…Strangely –or maybe not-so-strangely, considering his talk-slash-epiphany with Kuroko and Takao…he'd discovered that maybe he wanted to be special to Aomine.

In all honesty, he'd been surprised how quickly Aomine had backed off when Kagami had told him to stop. It had been strange, really –because usually whenever he'd protest against being kissed or put up a fight (half-hearted, though it might be), Aomine would just continue until he caved (which was usually relatively quickly, because in all honesty, the guy's lips and touch were addictive). But last night…he'd actually listened, for a change, and pulled back, as though sensing the other ace's uncertainty.

Kagami was grateful for that, and wondered for the thousandth time how crazy it was that Aomine always managed to surprise him, somehow –and how, despite often being on completely different wavelengths…sometimes they just _got_ each other. And it made him _glad_ to realise that though he was a selfish dickhead a lot of the time, Aomine actually did, to some extent…maybe…_care_ about him…

"What are you grinning about, Bakagami?" Aomine's dozy drawl remarked from the doorway, and Kagami looked over his shoulder, blushing a little, but then glaring at how the other ace had decided to wander in with just a towel wrapped around his waist; arrogance on full display.

_Well, if he cared, he sure liked to hide it fucking well. _

"Oi; put some clothes on when you're in the kitchen!" he scolded crossly, but letting his eyes trail across his sculpted chest and abdomen; an action that was not lost on Aomine. Touou's ace smirked almost _triumphantly_ as he sauntered over to the fridge –seeking the milk.

"Drink from the carton and this pancake is going on your head," Kagami warned flatly. Aomine rather pointedly wrenched open the fridge door with a loud clatter, and pulled out the milk carton. With exaggerated slowness, he opened it and tipped it to his lips, taking a deep scull and letting some of it trail from the corner of his mouth; beading on the tip of his chin; eyes glued on Kagami's.

With a satisfied sigh, Aomine lowered the carton and took great care to slowly lick the milk away from his lips before wiping the last drips off his chin with the back of his hand. He rather enjoyed the little blush that Kagami was wearing but trying to disguise with an annoyed look as he tossed the milk back into the fridge.

"What, were you raised in a barn or something?" the redhead sneered, turning back to the pancakes and debating about whether or not to _actually_ throw one at him like he'd threatened to. In the end he decided not to waste a good pancake, and descended into what he hoped Aomine would interpret as a rather huffy silence.

Aomine just smirked at Kagami's bare back for a moment, letting his eyes trail down the other ace's smooth, sculpted back to his ass; rather admiring the way his sleeping pants clung to the curves rather invitingly. He'd never really considered himself to be an ass man (he'd always much preferred breasts), but he had recently discovered he rather liked Kagami's. And for that reason, he hadn't been able to resist a cheeky grope or two when Kagami was trying to escape from bed. He would've gone for more than one or two, but he reckoned that there was only so much he could get away with while pretending to be asleep.

"…Is there something you want?" Kagami finally growled, looking over his shoulder after a few minutes of silence had passed and it became apparent that Aomine wasn't heading off to get changed. He could feel that piercing blue gaze on him and wondered in the back of his mind if maybe he was being checked out…

A glance back informed him that Aomine's eyes were very definitely not on his face. He coughed self-consciously and felt his cheeks heat up a little as Aomine's gaze rose to meet him, looking thoroughly smug and completely unashamed of being caught staring at his ass. With a smirk, he leaned back against the fridge; tipping his head back oh-so-casually, and exposing the hickeys that Kagami's own lips had left on his tanned throat. Seeing those marks so clearly on display gave Kagami a strange sense of accomplishment and sent what felt like a surge of possessive pride coursing through him.

"…See something you like?" Aomine remarked almost cheekily as he saw Kagami's eyes glitter with a brief flash of desire as they roved across his body.

"Tch, like hell," Kagami sniffed indifferently, though his mind was very clearly disputing that. He heard Aomine chuckle; a thick rumble that he quite enjoyed, despite that annoyingly smug ring to it. A tanned hand pressed against the bench on one side of him and he felt a warm, still slightly damp chest press up against his back.

"…Maybe I should just go back to pretending to be asleep then," Aomine murmured in his ear; his warm breath sending a shiver down Kagami's spine and the proximity making him want to arch back against him.

"…I don't know what you're talking about," Kagami scoffed condescendingly, though the lie was evident in his voice, and his eyes widened in sudden horror at the realisation that Aomine _hadn't_ been asleep, and had likely caught him being all unbearably cute. He was still in a slight state of shock when he felt a pair of warm lips press against his cheek.

"Sure you don't," Aomine snickered, hand snaking past to nab a piece of bacon from one of the various frying pans that Kagami currently had on the stove.

"Oi, quit it!" he complained crossly, ignoring his searing cheek in favour of glaring at Aomine as the bastard stalked from the kitchen with a rather obvious show of guzzling down the morsel he'd managed to steal. "Ugh…_Ahomine_!"

"It's for me anyways," Aomine sniffed as he headed down the hallway –presumably towards the bedroom, "What does it matter when I eat it?"

"Who said any of it was for you?" Kagami shot back.

" –You already put a plate out for me."

Despite how annoyed Kagami was pretending to be, he couldn't help but grin as he finally emerged from the kitchen to find Aomine lounging on the couch in what the redhead had come to know as Aomine's favourite outfit –which, unfortunately for Kagami, consisted of _his_ favourite black shirt and dark jeans.

"About time," Touou's ace grumbled as Kagami approached the couch. The redhead glared aggressively at the ungrateful asshole lying there as though he owned the place, but handed a plate over nonetheless, and felt his heart skip when he felt Aomine press a chaste kiss against his chin in thanks –the second of the morning.

Chest and cheeks both feeling a little warm despite his state of undress, he tossed himself down on the couch comfortably and held his plate up expectantly as a pair of ankles landed in his lap.

"Tch…asshole…" Kagami scoffed in feigned annoyance.

"Idiot," Aomine snorted back, already devouring his cooked meal.

"Would it _kill_ you to be grateful for once?" he sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah," the other ace responded childishly.

"Bastard."

The pair of them exchanged glances from opposite ends of the couches, glaring at each other confrontationally despite the comfortable setting, but it took only a moment for them each to realise that there was no ice in those looks.

Though, there hadn't been ice for quite some time.

Something had changed though, and they were now both aware of it, Kagami knew. Actually, he was pretty sure that things had changed a long time ago and he hadn't been willing to accept it. Sitting there, with Aomine, he suddenly realised that it felt so natural and so comfortable; and it had done for quite some time. Distantly, (and cheesily) he wondered if he could imagine doing this more; having Aomine stay over, and waking up with him.

He found that he really could.

The two of them finally broke eye contact, and Kagami spotted that smile; that genuine smile grace Aomine's handsome face for just a moment before hiding away again, and he couldn't help but grin.

Yeah, something had definitely changed. And yet, at the same time, things were still the same.

They were both so fucking stupid.

"…One-on-one?"

"You fucking know it."

"Prepare to lose, Bakagami."

"Eat shit, Ahomine."

* * *

"Kagami! Quit daydreaming about your boyfriend and come help!" Hyuga complained loudly, rolling his eyes as he observed Seirin's ace distractedly bouncing a basketball on the concrete and grinning to himself like either remembering some terrible joke or reminiscing about fond memories. From the way that Kagami immediately fumbled the ball and blushed up to the roots of his hair, it was the latter, and most definitely about Aomine.

"I…uhh…he…I –" Kagami stammered, so embarrassed at being caught so easily that he didn't even consider denying it. Was he really that obvious? He heard his teammates chuckling and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck as he went to retrieve his dropped basketball.

"Kagami-kun, put the ball away and come help," Riko scolded crossly, hands on hips and growing more and more impatient with trying to organise her team. She sighed in exasperation as she stared at the concrete wall of the park's basketball court. When she'd spotted an ad seeking volunteers to paint it and bring a bit of life and colour to the greying courts, she'd thought that it would prove to be a nice bonding experience for them all –however, at the moment it was proving difficult to keep them on task.

Koganei and Izuki had originally been assigned to mixing colours, but after several failed attempts and many ugly browns, they had abandoned this in favour of painting each other and their juniors. Kagami was a hopeless basketball nut as usual and was more focused on shooting hoops than helping out –and more focused on thoughts of Aomine than shooting hoops. Not to mention, she was pretty sure they'd misplaced Kuroko somewhere.

"...What's Hyuga-kun doing?" Riko inquired of Kiyoshi as the centre wandered over carrying what Kagami had forgotten about. Kiyoshi glanced across the court where it was apparent that Hyuga was on the phone with someone who could only be Imayoshi, judging by the irritated, exasperated and altogether rather confrontational expression their captain was wearing. Something Touou's captain was saying had apparently irked him, or insulted him, and his voice was getting steadily louder.

"Oh," she remarked flatly, when Kiyoshi gave her a rather pained look, "…Well, has he found out if Touou are coming soon? They're late…"

"I think he got distracted when Imayoshi asked him about how his calculus test went…" Kiyoshi replied; a small, knowing chuckle in his voice. Riko just sighed again and looked around the courts, only to spy a familiar set of faces entering the area clad in violently orange overalls.

"Kagami!" Takao panted cheerfully as he pedalled his rickshaw onto the court with Midorima uncomfortably crammed in the back with some extra painting supplies. "…Having fun back there, Shin-chan?" The point guard glanced back, brushing some sweat from his forehead and rather enjoyed seeing the thoroughly _unimpressed_ look of disdain that his boyfriend was wearing at having been forced to share his cart with various paint cans and step stools.

"Takao?" Kagami remarked in surprise, dribbling the ball casually, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Kagami-kun, I told you last night that Shutoku and Touou were coming to help us paint since they had a half-day at school today as well," Kuroko's voice suddenly chimed in from directly next to Kagami. The redhead let out a yelp of astonishment and flinched away; sending the ball flying across the concrete.

" –Kuroko?" Kagami and Riko both exclaimed in astonishment, "Where have you been?" the coach inquired in an exasperated tone. Kuroko obligingly held up pots of bright yellow and red paint.

"I've been mixing colours," he explained, and Riko was a little startled to discover that where Izuki and Koganei had quit in favour of chasing their juniors, Kuroko had apparently been at the mixing, and had arranged a lovely array of colours for them to start off with.

"Oh. Thank you."

" –You didn't say anything about Shutoku?" Kagami raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"I did."

"No, you just said that Touou was coming to help us, and then…I…something about food?" he frowned to himself, trying to think back to the conversation that they'd had yesterday. The pair of them had been at Maji Burger together, and Kuroko had reminded him about the half day at school, and how their coach had volunteered them to do some painting at the park…and that other schools had the same half day...

He'd definitely said that Touou was coming, and Kagami had grinned to himself as he ate, secretly (or not-so-secretly) pleased that he'd be getting to see Aomine again, even though they'd had a one-on-one the day before. He'd vowed to remember to bring a ball so that they could have a game or dozen if painting got tedious; maybe he should offer to cook again? If it was a half day; would they all have lunch or just go straight to painting…He should definitely make something for lunch…and if Aomine was going to be there, he'd have to make at least double, because the bastard would no doubt start stealing from him…

"…Kagami-kun, you spaced out, didn't you?" Kuroko deadpanned, and the redhead scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment at how he'd perhaps stopped listening to what Kuroko had been saying after the mention of Touou. Jeez, that bastard was just ruining his life, wasn't he?

Well, actually, no he wasn't…

He was snapped back to reality by a sudden sharp pain in his side. He doubled over in pain and glared over to where Kuroko was looking at him rather pointedly.

"…You were doing it again," was the shadow's explanation, and Kagami was slightly annoyed to discover that not only had Kuroko jabbed him, but he had done it with a hand covered in yellow paint, and now he had a large yellow smudge on his overalls. Takao burst out laughing.

"Aw, Shin-chan, do you sometimes space out and think about me?"

"Never."

"So mean…" Takao pouted playfully with a smirk over at the redhead, "Don't worry, Kagami, I'm sure Aomine will turn up soon."

"…I didn't say anything about –"

"You're wearing your Aomine-kun face," Kuroko informed him flatly.

"No I'm not! I do not have an _Aomine_ face!" Kagami complained.

"Kuroko…practically all his faces are Aomine faces these days," Takao sniggered and the shadow nodded thoughtfully in agreement as though he had made an excellent point.

"Takao," Midorima remarked in annoyance, and the point guard looked over his shoulder with a grin to find Midorima leaning on the cart looking handsomely irritated that the one who had 'forced' him to come, currently was favouring tormenting Kagami over helping.

"…Why is he standing like that?" Kagami deadpanned quizzically, noting the strange way that Midorima was leaning. It looked uncomfortable.

"Sometimes, with Midorima-kun, it's best not to ask," Kuroko admitted.

"Shin-chan, why are you standing weird? Do you want my attention?" Takao immediately inquired loudly, having absolutely no reservations about probing into the mind of the quirky ace. Midorima glowered at him, causing the point guard to simply raise an eyebrow and giggle to himself before sighing.

His sigh mingled in with another as Hyuga wandered over, ear pressed to his phone and his expression of one who had just taken offence. Riko and Kiyoshi rolled their eyes as Takao eyed Seirin's captain rather quizzically.

" –Can you fucking believe this guy?" Hyuga snapped flatly, holding his phone at arm's length in an attempt to stop the person on the other end of the phone from hearing what he was saying, "You know that scary movie I've been talking about?"

"Yes?" Kiyoshi replied with a raised eyebrow.

"He seems to think it would be 'too much' for me," he growled, obviously having interpreted this as meaning that he was a wimp, and his pride stinging from the blow. " –Apparently he's going with _Sakurai_! Like, is he actually serious?" There was a muted remark from the other end of the line and Hyuga immediately pressed the phone back to his ear with a snap of, "I heard that, bastard. You know what, I bet you scream like a little girl –"

Kiyoshi made a wounded noise at the mere mention of the word 'bet' and had a feeling that Hyuga had just walked into yet another trap.

"Imayoshi?" Takao hazarded a guess in a low tone.

"Oh, so you've realised too?" Kiyoshi deadpanned.

"Uhh, hawk-eyes," Takao reminded him with a smirk, pointing at his grey eyes and snickering to himself, "I thought everyone noticed?" At this, Kagami stared at him in astonishment; not having a single clue what he was talking about. Takao noted his bewildered expression and chuckled, earning himself a swat over the back of the head from Midorima.

" –Well, apparently everyone except Hyuga and Kagami," the point guard admitted, rubbing his head and pouting in what he hoped was an endearing fashion, "And Hyuga doesn't even have the excuse of being distracted by someone –"

"_Hey! I am _not_ distracted by that bastard_!" Kagami protested, though his response merely caused everyone present (minus Hyuga, who was in fact, distracted) to roll their eyes.

"Once again, Kagami-kun, no one made any mention of Aomine-kun," Kuroko sighed wearily.

" –Kiyoshi, I can't come to your place tomorrow night," Hyuga suddenly informed his friend in a somewhat competitive tone.

"Oh? And why not?" Kiyoshi remarked lightly, though it was obvious that he was being purposely sarcastic –not that Hyuga picked up on his tone.

"I'm going to the movie with Sakurai and Imayoshi," Hyuga informed him flatly, "Whoever screams the most buys the burgers. Imayoshi's so confident that he's even buying the tickets. Can you believe what an idiot he is?"

"…I think the idiot is you…" Riko muttered under her breath, but put on an innocent smile when Hyuga shot her a suspicious look.

"I think I'd put money on Sakurai _not_ being there," Takao snickered.

"I believe that Sakurai likely has no knowledge whatsoever of this outing," Midorima countered flatly.

"Aww, Shin-chan, you do take notice of other people's relationships!"

"…I notice…I just choose to not interfere," the shooting guard replied haughtily, and then gave his boyfriend a rather pointed look. "…Unlike some people."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Shin-chan. Right, Kuroko?"

"Exactly, Takao-kun." Kiyoshi glanced from Kuroko to Takao and then back again and sighed heavily. When did those two start getting along so well? It did _not_ bode well at all.

He saw that Hyuga had wandered away again –having completed his goal of informing them all of how much of an asshole Imayoshi was –but he was apparently still so absorbed in the call that he'd failed to notice that he was currently leaning in wet paint.

"You know, sometimes I don't know if Imayoshi is evil or a genius," Takao admitted quietly.

"…Probably a bit of both," Riko murmured.

"…Am I missing something?" Kagami remarked out loud, blinking obliviously and just receiving a condescending pat on the elbow from Kuroko –a gesture he did not appreciate. He showed his disapproval by glaring down at his shadow and stalking over to pick up the basketball that had gone forgotten for the meantime.

"Well, we should probably get working on the painting," Kiyoshi admitted with a sigh, scratching the back of his neck, "Kuroko, don't wander off again –when Touou get here we're going to need all hands on deck to keep everyone under control…" Kuroko deadpanned and held up the pots of paint that he was still holding to demonstrate that he had not been 'wandering off' –he had been over with the other juniors mixing paint, though he'd managed to escape Izuki and Koganei's merciless paint-flinging. Takao seemed to find Kuroko's unimpressed expression thoroughly hilarious, and burst out laughing all over again, patting him on the head comfortingly.

"Hey, Kuroko," the point guard sniggered, "Maybe we should swap overalls so your team wouldn't keep losing you!" Kuroko appeared to not appreciate this suggestion; eyeing the almost offensive orange rather scathingly.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea –" Riko remarked thoughtfully.

"No," Midorima objected firmly almost immediately, and Takao grinned, latching onto his boyfriend's arm playfully.

"Aw, Shin-chan wants us to match!" he called out with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Don't talk nonsense, Takao." Midorima's voice remained as haughty as ever, but his cheeks flushed scarlet, and he didn't shake his boyfriend off, and didn't voice any protest when Takao reached up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek affectionately. He was, however, saved from further embarrassment by the impish point guard by something else distracting the mischievous hawk-eye. Midorima rolled his eyes as Takao suddenly looked rather gleeful. If he hadn't been clutching onto his boyfriend's arm, he probably would've been rubbing his hands together like some kind of evil genius watching a scheme unfold.

" –Seriously, when are you getting here?" Hyuga sighed into his phone, sounding more weary than annoyed right now. It seemed that this phone call was taking up the majority of his attention, because he had failed to realise that there was someone slowly slinking up behind him.

"…Are you there?" Hyuga inquired with a small frown, sounding uncertain, "…Imayoshi?"

"…Careful, Hyuga, or I'll start to think you were looking forward to seeing me," Imayoshi suddenly remarked in the ear of Seirin's captain, causing him to leap out of his skin and spin around, hanging up his phone and automatically putting on a scowl.

"As if," he muttered crossly as he managed to calm his racing heart, folding his arms as Imayoshi smirked at him slyly, "You're late."

"Nice to see you, too," Imayoshi simpered lightly.

" –Don't sneak up on people," he retorted flatly, "It's creepy."

"I'm wounded," Imayoshi replied, sounding anything but wounded. In fact, he sounded as smug and gleeful as ever, "…I thought it would be nice to surprise you."

"Like you do _nice_," Hyuga scoffed, "...Seriously, why were you so late?" Imayoshi sighed; a little disappointed that their banter was over so quickly and it was back to serious talk.

"Aomine didn't turn up to school today, since it was a half day," Touou's captain replied with a shrug, tucking his hands into the pockets of his black overalls, "Apparently he'd 'forgotten' that we were helping out Seirin…although I believe he just…_lost track of time…_"

"That sounds like Aomine."

"Indeed…I think he was just suitably…_distracted_…"

Hyuga raised an eyebrow and stared quizzically at the other captain, who seemed as though he was sharing some hilarious inside joke with himself. Although, that look was fairly similar to the face he usually wore.

"Anyway," Imayoshi continued with a shrug, "Momoi asked me to fetch him, which was why we were late. I believe she and Sakurai had to drop off some soup to Wakamatsu since he's sick –" He suddenly cut off mid-sentence as something across the court happened to catch his gaze. His eyebrow quirked in interest, and Hyuga, who had been about to bark out some order at him, followed his line of sight and mimicked his expression.

Kagami was just reaching for the escaped basketball when a tanned hand shot out before he could claim it and snatched it from the ground. Red eyes shot up as a dark blur shot past him, hammering the ball into the ground as someone dribbled past. Automatically, Kagami sprang after the dark shape that he had easily recognised immediately as Aomine, and managed to catch up in moments.

"…I guess you're not as slow anymore, Bakagami," Aomine smirked, lips curling up in a grin as Kagami matched his every movement seamlessly. Red and blue flashed aggressively as the pair of aces faced off in their overalls –Kagami in blue and Aomine in black –both of them focused solely on each other despite their surroundings. Eyes roved across each other's bodies, searching for the slightest feints; seeking the smallest movements. It didn't matter that these days they were staring at each other's bodies with eyes filled with desire and want –this was basketball, and when they faced off against each other, that was all that mattered.

Well…usually.

Kagami lunged forwards to knock the ball from Aomine's hands, and too late, saw the wicked glint in the other ace's eyes. As swift as ever, Aomine snatched the ball from the air with one hand and tucked it neatly under his arm while the other dragged Kagami off balance as he leaned forwards and crushed their lips together.

From the way that Kagami's lips parted for his tongue almost immediately, Aomine had the feeling that he'd been expecting such a trick. Nonetheless, he smirked to himself as he fisted the back of Kagami's overalls tightly and kissed him hungrily; feeling their tongues slick against each other with that indescribable, burning heat. He allowed himself a low moan of approval as Kagami deepened the kiss and fought back with his mouth; eyes fluttered to half-mast but misted gaze locked against Aomine's.

One of Kagami's arms hooked up around Aomine's neck; bringing their bodies closer and locking their lips together more fiercely. If the redhead's boldness surprised Aomine, he didn't show it –rather, he seemed pleased by it; if the low rumbles Kagami felt on his tongue were anything to go by. He was probably going to kick Aomine's ass later for being such an embarrassing pervert –especially since he could feel that hand on his back sliding down towards his ass…or maybe he wouldn't, because he was just as into this kiss as Aomine was.

"Mmm…" he moaned in a low tone as their lips parted, and then met once more, and then again; Aomine taking full advantage of their miniscule height difference and dominating the kiss. Aomine's tongue snaked deep into the cavern of his mouth and he let out a soft almost-whimper as his knees shook and his hand clawed at the back of the bluenette's neck.

Finally, they pulled apart, breathless, with Aomine pressing a final, hot kiss against the edge of Kagami's lips –an action that Kagami both enjoyed and despised because it was both a sweet, familiar gesture, and one that left him craving another. The pair of them let out a heavy breath, Aomine's eyes glinting with thinly, barely-veiled desire, and his lips still so close that the redhead's tongue brushed across them languidly as he licked his own.

"…I get you with that every time, Bakagami," Aomine chuckled against his mouth; not even caring that almost every set of eyes on the court was currently fixed on the pair of them. The only gaze he cared about was the red pair of eyes currently boring into his own; eyes filled with such fire and intensity that he couldn't stop the heat spreading through his system. He'd been in a thoroughly bad mood before he'd arrived at the court –courtesy of that infernal captain of his and a rather unfortunate situation –but as soon as he'd spotted Kagami, his spirits had lifted.

And for a change, he'd been all right with that.

"…Maybe because I let you," Kagami remarked back, tone just as smug; and with a brief tug of the other ace's lower lip between his teeth, (making sure to brush it with his tongue), he swatted the basketball out from under Aomine's arm and sprinted past him. Aomine, like the rest of the court, was apparently still frozen in a small state of shock, and was only jerked back to reality by the sound of Kagami triumphantly slamming the basketball down through the hoop.

"…How do _you_ like it, bastard?" Kagami goaded, as the bluenette turned to face him with eyes aflame with competitiveness and anger at having been lured into so cheap-a trick, "Look who's too slow now."

" –Come back here and say that."

If anyone had been about to tell Kagami to stop mucking around with the basketball and come and join in the quality bonding time, then they were suddenly struck dumb. Sure, Aomine and Kagami were definitely known for their out-of-the-blue, over-the-top displays of affection, but it was a little bit of a shock to their systems since only the week before, Aomine had been in the hard-to-get phase of his hot-and-cold swings.

"…I don't know if it's a good thing that they're being normal again," Hyuga admitted flatly, wondering in the back of his mind when _this_ had become their definition of 'normal'. Teasing make-out session over, the pair of aces were getting serious once more; as determined as ever to defeat each other.

"Oh, you should have seen Aomine on Monday," Imayoshi remarked dryly, causing most of the people present to look at him rather curiously, "He walked into practice _on time_, practically showing off the hickeys on his neck and later on actually apologised for fouling Wakamatsu –"

"He was on _time_?" Hyuga exclaimed.

"Aomine _apologised_?" Midorima scoffed in apparent surprise. Kuroko just coughed violently through his rather sudden, vicious nosebleed that was just barely under control thanks to Kiyoshi's quick supplying of tissues.

"…_Hickeys_?" Riko spluttered, dabbing at her own nose as inconspicuously as possible, since Kuroko's nosebleed seemed to have attracted a great deal of attention.

" –Oh, yes, didn't you know?" Imayoshi raised a sly eyebrow with a rather _knowing_ glance at Riko and Kuroko –a look that they distinctly did not appreciate, "…Hickeys. All over his neck. He seemed rather…_proud_ of them." As un-obviously as they could, those involved in the conversation snuck glances across the court to where Kagami and Aomine were engaged in their heated one-on-one; completely off in their own little world and oblivious to the fact that they were the topic of discussion.

Of course, Imayoshi's words had immediately evoked the mental image of _Kagami_, the usually blushing, stammering, protesting one of the pair, predatorily pushing Aomine to his back and descending to his neck –and Aomine _letting him_. Well, _that_ made for an interesting picture…

Kuroko spluttered again and held out a hand for another tissue. Not asking questions, Kiyoshi wordlessly handed him another.

"…I think Momoi took pictures…" Imayoshi added sneakily, and watched with a great deal of amusement as Riko's hand immediately dove into her pocket, looking for her phone.

" –Kuroko-kun…"

"_Way_ ahead of you, Coach."

"…What _happened_?" Hyuga inquired flatly as they continued to watch the aces testing their skills against each other; eyes flared and so full of each other, "This time last week, Aomine would barely touch Kagami and now they're back to shoving their tongues down each other's throats?" Takao and Kuroko sneakily exchanged glances and traded small, triumphant looks –that Midorima unfortunately caught.

"Takao…" he remarked warningly, and Hyuga's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"…What did you do?" he demanded.

"What makes you think I did anything?" Kuroko and Takao replied simultaneously in their most angelic voices; not that anyone believed them in the slightest.

" –What did I tell you –" Midorima scolded.

"I know, I know, Shin-chan," Takao wilted, "…You're going to withhold sex because we _may_ have _slightly _interfered…" Midorima coughed self-consciously and adjusted his glasses as his boyfriend didn't make any attempt to get him to change his mind.

"…I don't think that's necessary…" the shooting guard muttered flatly, averting his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see Takao's lighting up mischievously. Unfortunately, this just meant that he wound up with the point guard sidling up beside him rather knowingly and looking up at him with the _smuggest_ expression.

"Oh, so Shin-chan has _needs_ too?" he commented with a chuckle.

"Takao, you're really too open about your sex life," Hyuga remarked flatly.

"…I think Shin-chan would _probably _agree with you…"

The conversation was again paused momentarily as Kagami managed to soar past Aomine and dunk again; the bluenette grinning wickedly as he grabbed the loose ball; Kagami leering across at him condescendingly.

"…Ahomine, looks like the only one who can beat you is _me_," he sniggered, his smile reaching up to his eyes. It was obvious that the pair of them were having fun playing against each other like this. And then, Aomine leaned in towards Kagami's ear, smirk in full bloom, and muttered suggestively, "…You got _that_ right…"

As soon as he understood the innuendo, Kagami's blush was back in full force. He elbowed Aomine away from him, stammering, "_Pervert_!" as he sprang back a pace. Aomine just quirked a sly eyebrow and ran his tongue across his upper lip seductively. Was it terrible that embarrassing Kagami was practically a hobby?

"…You heard that, right?" Takao hissed, "Like…I wasn't the only one to hear that?"

"What the hell is going on?" Hyuga sighed in exasperation, "Kagami! Get your ass over here and start helping!" Kagami's head bolted up at the sound of his name; suddenly a little grateful for the distraction, and Aomine looked suitably annoyed that their game had been interrupted, even if it was to be reminded of why they were there in the first place. Riko let out a sigh of relief as she spied Momoi and Sakurai arriving nearby. Momoi would be able to get Aomine to help –and would hopefully still have those pictures…

" –So, I'll pick you up at seven?" Imayoshi inquired of Hyuga in a light tone.

"Make it earlier," Hyuga replied vacantly, "I don't want to miss the previews." And on that note, he was off to drag Kagami to work, and to remind Izuki and the rest of their teammates that the paint was supposed to be going on the wall and not on each other.

"…Is this for real?" Riko inquired of Kiyoshi, her tone sounding rather weary as Aomine slung an arm around Kagami's shoulder and was shoved in the face by the redhead –sparking yet another argument, as was their custom…and another contrast from what had been happening earlier.

"What is even happening these days?"

* * *

"This is just getting ridiculous."

"…You're going to have to be a little more specific," Takao commented with a yawn as he leaned heavily on a nearby ladder and chuckled to himself at the way that Hyuga was looking utterly defeated.

"This was a worse idea than the Christmas party."

"That's a big call to make…"

"Takao," Hyuga grumbled in resignation, "Kuroko is covered in yellow paint, there's more paint on the juniors than on the walls, and Kagami has dark blue handprints on his backside." Takao burst out laughing.

" –And Shin-chan's hair isn't green anymore –"

"…And Midorima's hair isn't green anymore…Which would usually be normal, except that now he's just covered in orange paint." Takao snickered to himself, looking as innocent as possible.

"Oh, I wonder who did that…Well, at least you won't lose Kuroko anymore," he pointed out positively, to dramatically change the subject, "And oh my god, has Kagami still not noticed that? He's going to _kill_ Aomine!" As if to prove him correct, that was about the moment that Kagami let out an embarrassed, aggrieved noise, and a paintbrush coated in red paint went flying across the court and slapped Aomine straight in the side of the face.

"Oi! Bakagami! What was that for?" Aomine complained, having been really getting into his section (finally) under the watchful eye of Momoi. He wiped red paint off his face and rubbed it on his overalls.

"Oh don't give me that, you asshole!" Kagami snapped, cheeks flaming, "Explain _this_!" He obligingly turned and jabbed a thumb at his back. Their friends snickered to themselves, and Momoi exclaimed, "_Aomine-kun, you pervert_!" as they noticed a very, _very_ obvious pair of hand prints in blue paint settled directly on Kagami's ass.

"…You weren't complaining," Aomine shrugged, leaning casually against the wall; feeling rather smug at having suitably marked what he maybe, in a barbaric, Neanderthal kind of way, now considered his territory. Kagami didn't seem _quite_ so thrilled.

"I was too!" Kagami snapped hotly.

"…Oh…so you were…" That earned the bluenette another face-full of paint. "Kagami…don't start something you're only going to lose…"

"_Asshole_!" More red paint splattered across Aomine's face, and in a flash, there was a huge streak of blue across Kagami's. The redhead baulked backwards crossly, knocking into Kuroko, who, having gone unnoticed, promptly stepped in a pot of pink paint. "Hey, bastard, that nearly got in my eye!"

"You started it."

"No I didn't!"

"Oh this is fucking exhausting," Hyuga sighed in defeat, heading over to where Midorima was almost sulkily picking orange paint from his hair. Imayoshi was there too, wiping green paint from his glasses, and Riko looked on the verge of quitting as well.

"Are we giving up?" she inquired weakly.

"I think so," Hyuga admitted in a deadpan, staring out at the wall and allowing himself a small smile. There wasn't an awful lot of actual painting getting done –just a full-scale paint war –but those who were there appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely, and admittedly, the wall, and some of the court itself, was a great deal more colourful and lively.

"I didn't realise that Seirin knew how to give up," Imayoshi mocked with a small smirk that made Hyuga's eyebrow twitch in irritation.

" –We know what's a lost cause," he sniffed.

"Oh, really?" Imayoshi sniggered, "…Because when I, for one, have a target –I mean, _goal_ –I don't just _give up_…" Everyone present, asides from Hyuga, all rolled their eyes, but then Touou's captain glanced over to where the two aces were once again engaged in all-out war that seemed to involve a great deal of wrestling, and Aomine gripping Kagami in a headlock to have the best angle for pouring paint on his head.

" –But those two really are a special case, aren't they…"

"You're telling me," Riko sighed, "_Is that Aomine's hand on Kagami-kun's butt again_?" Judging from the yelp from Kagami, it was.

"I advise a spray bottle," Midorima suggested flatly, "Though it does not always have the desired effect…" He glared across at Takao, who just shrugged as though completely unbothered by his boyfriend's stony look.

" –Shin-chan, is it _really_ so difficult to admit you like me, even after all this time?" There was a pause, as Midorima adjusted his glasses in embarrassment, and then finally muttered, "…I suppose not…"

Takao's face lit up in surprise at the almost-slight-admission, and wrapped his arms around the shooting guard's neck affectionately from where he was standing behind him. He even decided to test his luck by leaning over his shoulder hopefully, and to his great delight, Midorima turned to face him, and grudgingly allowed him to press a soft kiss against his lips –though his face was red with embarrassment at the gesture.

"…Shin-chan, you're so –"

"…Do not call me cute."

" –Takao-kun, I believe we may have made a terrible mistake," Kuroko suddenly remarked in a thoroughly unimpressed tone as he appeared out of nowhere. Even covered in bright yellow paint, he had managed to startle everyone, though it was difficult for them all to keep themselves from bursting out laughing at how _done_ he was with the situation.

"Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun are flirting again," he offered as an explanation, and eyes turned to the courts to see that indeed, the two aces were engaged in their kind of flirting –flirting that involved a high level of childish insults and a great deal of physical contact.

"Oh, they've been driving us all crazy all afternoon," Takao admitted with a laugh.

" –Try _all year_," Hyuga deadpanned, "It's fake, then it's real, then it's hot and cold and then they're not talking and then there's heaps of sexual tension and…it's exhausting."

"…Imagine how it must be for them," Midorima suddenly commented, silencing him, and anyone else who had been about to speak. They all turned to peer at him quizzically as he gazed out at Kagami and Aomine on the court, "As two heterosexual males, they were shepherded into a fake relationship that has admittedly spiralled out of control. They have been difficult to deal with, but this cannot have been easy for them, and given time, they should be able to work things out."

Midorima's stoic words seemed to make the others present feel a little guilty for voicing their complaints. Takao's eyes softened and he smiled to himself as he rested against his boyfriend's back. His Shin-chan sure liked pretending he didn't care, when really…

"…So, what you're saying is that we should leave them to their own devices and not interfere?" Imayoshi inquired, watching as the two flicked paint at each other, grinning wickedly –Aomine happier than Imayoshi had ever seen him. Something had definitely happened –something had definitely changed…demonstrated once more as Aomine leaned in and promptly nipped at Kagami's throat teasingly –only to get half-heartedly swatted away.

"Precisely," Midorima sniffed, "From the beginning, there has been too much interference –" Imayoshi was already walking away from them, and those who were watching, and knew anything about Touou's wicked captain, had a sudden, very _bad_ feeling. " –What are you doing?"

"…Fixing things."

"Oh dear," Kiyoshi remarked, almost curiously, as Hyuga facepalmed and Midorima just blinked a few times, wondering what he'd said, and feeling a little annoyed that the older boy had just wandered off while he was obviously still talking. He glanced at Hyuga for explanation.

"…Ahh…" Seirin's captain muttered, "Imayoshi is the _best_ at doing exactly what you don't want him to do. He loves it. And it's going to get him in trouble one day…" He glowered at Imayoshi's back, but the other captain merely looked back over his shoulder with a knowing, but mockingly innocent look.

"Oh, words hurt, Hyuga," Imayoshi simpered, resisting the urge to snicker to himself, "…I'm simply going to talk to Aomine; that's all…"

" –That is inadvisable," Midorima snorted warningly.

"Since when does Aomine listen to you?" Hyuga scoffed. Touou's captain just smirked with that ever-so-knowing glint in his eyes –the glint of a man with a scheme.

"I have the feeling that this time he's _definitely _going to listen."

* * *

**Like I said, m'dears, kinda a set-up chapter.  
And if you're interested in why Imayoshi is so convinced that Aomine will listen to him, you can find the uhh, somewhat-steamy teaser extra on AO3 ( /works/1284739). **

**So, Aomine and Kagami kinda know what's up, but also sort of don't. Outwardly, they're still in their strange, sort-of-fake, sort-of-relationship...but emotionally, they've noted the change. How will things progress for them? What's Imayoshi going to do? And also, I love Midorima so much.  
(As a side note, I had never intended for implied ImaHyuu, and then my dear reviewers started pointing it out and now I kinda love it...Sometimes characters manage to make their own side stories.) **

**Again, apologies, and I will do my best to update soon. I love you all for reading; I love you all for reviewing.  
All the best, always  
xx K**


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